Toaru Fukashi no Kage (A Certain Invisible Light)
by IndexAndKuroko
Summary: Kuroko is determined to become strong after losing against Touou and so he visits a certain Teleporting cousin in Academy City. But by doing so, he would get caught up in the unending conflict between Science and Magic, with a certain Imagine Breaker at the center of it. How will he handle this? Events of the KnB and Toaru original canons will deviate a little. No OTPs.
1. Introduction

_**112 – 55**_

The whistle is heard blown as the sounds of cheers and joyous jumps were heard from the side of the guys in black. On the other side, the team in white jerseys were simply quiet as they accepted their loss in such a black face. But one of them, a certain Kuroko Tetsuya, the vaunted Phantom Sixth Man of the famous Generation of Miracles kept his head low as he follows his team towards the bench. But despite his massive loss, he didn't cry nor did he even complain. But when he passed his former light, the super scorer and ace Aomine Daiki, he didn't even bother to say anything as they passed each other without even saying anything. Momoi Satsuki, their former Teiko manager, can only look in despair as she feels their victory is bittersweet.

"See you Kise," On the seats, Midorima Shintaro, the current shooter of Shutoku High School, suddenly bade his farewell to the blonde, who is now the ace of Kaijo High School.

"That was quick!" Kise replied as he turns to chase the green haired _megane_ , "Aren't you all shocked by these results!?"

Midorima stopped then turns around before replying, "You should be worried about Kuroko instead of me. Kuroko's basketball is completely useless against Aomine. It must have been pretty psychologically damaging. Not only that but Seirin is a young team. It won't be easy for them to come back from that overnight. We can only hope that it doesn't affect their remaining two games." He then left the blonde Kise in bewilderment as goes in his own way.

Meanwhile, things in the locker room were going on as expected. The Seirin team was simply quiet and down in their spirits as they just sat in the bench aimlessly as they watch Kagami punding his fists in the lockers while cursing out aloud. Kuroko, for his part, was simply dazing off as he looks at the floor while turning his back.

The coach, Aida Riko or simply Riko, was still talking about how they shouldn't be sad as it wasn't yet time to be sullen with the remaining two games that they still have in their schedule. After that, it was just only Kuroko and his new light, Kagami Taiga, who was quiet as well. Then suddenly, the red head stood up and said, "Hey, this might be our limit."

Kuroko froze at what he just heard.

"I thought we could go further," he continued, "But look at us. In face of overwhelming power, I don't think we can just win by working together…" Kagami then leaves the locker room and let the door slowly shut, leaving Kuroko in the state of confusion and a tinge of pain upon hearing the words of his new light. Then it brought him memories. Memories of his past where his Teiko teammates weren't yet monsters until they have become one.

He bit his lip, trying not to let tears rain from his eyes.

 _ **My basketball failed to save Aomine-kun...**_

* * *

For the next two days, Seirin seemed to be not in their best state to even play as they were nipped by Meisei before getting routed by Senshinkan. Due to his injury, Kagami didn't even play while Kuroko simply slumped as is usually-accurate passes weren't cutting at all. As a result, Seirin's chances at the Interhigh ended.

The team once again went home down in spirits as none of them even bothered to say anything. Kagami was simply in his own world as Riko was busy texting someone. Suddenly, as he was pondering on what to do next, Kuroko suddenly felt his phone vibrating. Fishing it out, he was actually amused to see who it was.

 _From: Shirai Kuroko_

 _Subject: Your Basketball Game_

 _Message: I heard you lost so terribly. It's alright! Your still awesome, Tetsu-nii! Anyway, summer vacation is just around the corner in two weeks. What do you plan to do?_

 _As caring as always_ , Kuroko actually giggled inwardly as he types his message.

 _To: Shirai Kuroko_

 _Subject: Summer Vacation_

 _Message: I don't know yet but knowing coach, I think we would spend our summer in a training camp._

After a few minutes, he again received another message that says:

 _From: Shirai Kuroko_

 _Subject: Your Think Nothing, You Breathe Nothing_

 _Message: …But basketball. But if you have any problems, just text me anytime. I felt bad for you, you know. And if you're going to ask me if I'm fine, I'm supeeeer fine with onee-sama!_

For the first time since they lost to Touou, Kuroko was able to put up a small smile in his face. _At the very least, there is still something to look forward and smile on._

The next week, Kuroko realized that he wasn't actually far off about him saying that there summer would be spent in preparing themselves for another gruelling tournament in the Winter Cup, which determines the best high school basketball team nationally by the end of the year. At that time, Kagami wasn't even present since he was actually busy in recovering from his leg injury he sustained from the games versus Shutoku and the recently, Aomine's team. It was also that day that he had met Kiyoshi Teppei, the founder of the Seirin Basketball team and one of the so-called Uncrowned Kings with the nickname "Iron Heart."

"It's just like I heard," Kiyoshi said on that fateful night as he enters into the gym where Kuroko is busy practicing some jump shots, "You're not much good at anything besides passing." The tealnette frowned at that remark but what the brunette center said next actually caught him off-guard.

"But who cares about that? I like your basketball."

Astonished at what he said, Kuroko and Kiyoshi then introduce themselves to one another and there, they began to have a heart-to-heart talk. And in those manly conversations, Kuroko's eyes had grown wide at the gist of what Kiyoshi is trying to convey to him.

"Is that all you can do? Believe in your potential a little bit more."

The center's words sounded like he was just talking to himself but every bit of it had an effect on the tealnette's resolve. Then suddenly, he found himself smiling. _I think I know what to do._ After Kiyoshi had left, he turned off the gym lights before eventually leaving for home. But as he was already going home, one question was begging off to be answered.

 _How am I going to do it, then?_

Eventually, he and Kagami had make up after almost two weeks of not even talking to each other as they eventually settled their differences in a nearby basketball court, the same say that the Iron Heart as returned to finally rejoin the Seirin basketball team after missing out for a year after getting an injury which cost him his knee. But despite the make up, Kuroko can't help but ponder upon what Aomine had told him in their late encounter.

 _You haven't changed, Tetsu._

 _I'm disappointed._

 _Do you still think you can defeat me with your style?_

 _Akashi was right. Your basketball will never win._

The former GoM's Phantom Sixth Man still shudder at those words thrown to him by his former light. _Was it his way of trying to tell me that I haven't really improved or was he belittling me?_ He would be lying if he says that it didn't hurt him. In fact, he was close to crying after he saw that his style was deemed useless by his former best friend. But at the same time, it hardened his resolve to do one thing.

 _If it comes to that, I'm determined to be stronger, this time!_

* * *

Kuroko, though, never knew that he would actually have to make this decision.

Ever since he had already settle his differences with Kagami and renewed their partnership with an even stronger resolve to defeat the Generation of Miracles, Kuroko had kept thinking about how to make himself stronger so he can combine his strength with those of Kagami, who super jumps is yet to develop.

 _I cannot shoot properly and consistently like Midorima-kun or Aomine-kun so it's either I fix that or abandon it._

He then thought of a high-level dribble…

 _But my dribbling isn't that much good, either._

He sighed. _This is really getting out of hand._

He then blankly stared at his teammates, who were still busy eating curry. It was this day where they had a taste-testing experiment with Riko's curry since it's a common knowledge that the coach is a bad cook, a direct opposite on how she's good in coaching their team. The first try was a disaster. The meat was raw, the rice was soft like porridge, and the sauce had a bitter-sour taste. But thanks to Kagami, she was able to perfect it quite decently and right now, everyone is busy wolfing down their meal.

The tealnette then remembered the training camp which Hyuga and Riko had both decided. _A training camp, huh? I wonder what kind of training we would get? Come to think of it, Kuroko-san's training in the Judgement grounds is actually worst—_

Suddenly, a bright idea came upon him as if a light bulb had just lit.

 _Wait…what if…I try to distance myself for a moment so that I can find an answer on how to make myself stronger…_

He had an hour to think about his decision as they still have to rearrange their belongings in the gymnasium. In those 59 minutes and a second, he quickly weighed his options as well as the pros and cons of what he was planning to do. After pondering, he had made his ultimate decision. Gathering his courage to actually to the initiative to speak to his coach, Kuroko quickly approached Hyuga and Riko who were busy talking about something. The tealnette quickly made his pale presence known them.

" _Kantoku…anou…_ excuse me…"

Riko sputtered as she holds her heart after seeing Kuroko suddenly appearing to her side, " _Konoyaro!_ You should have made your presence known earlier!" She was tempted to hold her passing specialist in a chokehold.

"Sorry, coach…" Kuroko quickly shuddered to avoid getting a punishment from his sadistic bench tactician, "But actually, I have an important message to tell to the two of you. _Kantoku…_ captain…I won't attend in the summer camp."

Upon hearing the words of his _kouhai_ , Hyuga almost spitted his drink as he glares at Kuroko with a glint of a psychopath.

"Huh!? Why?" Riko asked intensely as she was cracking her knuckles, a sign that she was getting annoyed at what her junior just asked, "You better give me a good and right reason for your would-be absence."

"I have a good reason and this is for the sake of our team," Kuroko defended his decision, "Actually, I have been contacted by my cousin who happens to be an expert in actual combat, martial arts, and physical fitness." He was referring to a certain girl from a certain city in though he twisted it a bit, "She offered to teach me ways on how to become physically stronger."

"Oh…really?" Riko put up a Cheshire smile, "If that's the case, then why don't we come as well?"

" _Anou…_ " Kuroko had to choose his words wisely as seeing the smile of his coach, he knew any slip and he can get into trouble, "Unfortunately, she doesn't really accept outsiders and prefers to teach on a one-on-one basis. So please, let me go on my own for the moment. I promise I'll make it up with a tripled menu when I come back from training."

Hyuga and Riko watch their Phantom player bow his head and look at them blankly, as if trying to plead his case with the two of them. After thinking hard of this, the coach sighed and she said, "Fine but make sure that you really learn something. Oh and don't forget your promise of triple training."

" _Arigatou!_ " Kuroko bowed down once more again as he happily runs out of the gym.

"Eh, coach? What was that? Where is Kuroko going?" Kagami was dumbfounded to see his partner suddenly running out of their gym with his duffel bag. Instead of replying to their ace, Hyuga decided to gather his team, "Everyone! Gather 'round!"

When everyone was already gathered in a semi-circle, Riko had a grim look on her face as she made an important announcement, "Tomorrow, we'll have our call time here in Seirin at 8 am. And we will go to our training camp without Kuroko-kun."

"Eh!?" Everyone's reaction was expected as they didn't expect that their passing specialist would _actually_ skip a training camp. He was always present in a basketball practice.

"He didn't elaborate but he said he had a cousin who's an expert in physical fitness and martial arts. Apparently, he was contacted and was offered training," the brunette coach explained as she actually made an evil thougt. _Just make it sure that it's training Kuroko-kun or else, you'll get more than just a Boston Crab Hold._

* * *

 **Academy City**

It is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within Tokyo Metropolitan Employment Area. It is a city of several schools and institutions of higher learning from kindergarten to university level that learn side-by-side along with the scientists who research on psychic powers and higher technology, the latter being one of the primary reasons for its establishment. It is the most advanced city in the world and its technology is said to be 30 years ahead of the world.

Academy City is composed of 23 districts, called School Districts which are simply numbered from one to twenty-three and each of these districts have a specific purpose.

And it is a place where a certain tealnette didn't expect until yesterday afternoon to end up to for his personal intentions.

 _I want to be strong. I will force the Generation of Miracles to recognize my style…_

Kuroko contemplated this as he makes himself comfortable in his seat in a bus that is destined to take him to where he's supposed to train himself to become stronger.

As the bus was threading in the road slowly, Kuroko had been drowsy as he nudges in his bed. "Academy City, huh?"

Yes, he was once offered a chance to actually study there in middle school before eventually settling in Teiko to continue his basketball path.

 _Should I regret that decision?_ Kuroko thought. _No. I don't regret playing basketball. It's just that…_

He didn't know what to think next.

After a few hours, he then heard an automated monotone announcement said, " _Minna-san_ , we, here at Academy City would like to welcome first-timers here. We would also like to welcome back those who are returning. We hope you enjoy your stay if you're visiting. We are, as of now are nearing District 7, for those who are planning to move out please stay on-tracks. Thank you for listening!"

He was awakened by the sight of windmills working and the sounds of automated robots suddenly lining up in the road.

He sighed.

 _Hopefully, Kuroko-san wouldn't mind if I arrive unannounced._

* * *

 _ **Sneak peak for the next chapter!**_

 **Kuroko Tetsuya finds himself in Academy City's District 7. Here, he reunites with his cousin, the Level 4 Teleporter and Judgement's best officers, Shirai Kuroko. The two then have an agreement in helping the Seirin passing specialist find his answer. But along the way, he also meets a lot of people, specifically a Level 5 _Biri Biri,_ a man whose luck is the worst, and…an English silver-haired nun?**

 **And while he would be staying there for the whole summer, more questions would be asked: who is this Himegami Aisa and what is Ars Magna? Before he knew it, he would be sucked into the on-going struggle between Magic and Science.**

 *** The story is set after Seirin's first match against Touou in the original arc and the Index Arc in the Toaru original canon.**


	2. Gakuen Toshi

"It seems I'm lost."

After getting down from the bus, Kuroko Tetsuya can only sigh in defeat as he have been wandering around because he finds the map of this city so vague that it gave him several headaches, and as such he wasn't really good at complicated directions. In his own blank emotion, he continued to walk down the street of the 7th district as the sun began to set, trying to find a certain high school's boys' dormitory in which he's supposed to stay.

To be clear, he wasn't planning to really study here permanently as he intends to play his entire three-year career in Seirin High School. Nevertheless, he was planning to enter its summer classes in preparation for the upcoming entrance examinations for high school though the reason isn't because of Esper abilities (which he had none since he didn't take the Power Curriculum Program) or anything else. It was simply because he didn't intend to stay idle nor does he planned to let his brain rust off in a month-and-a-half long summer vacation as he was originally here for one reason.

 _I wanted to become strong. I want to be strong enough to stand as Kagami-kun's shadow. I need to be strong enough to prove to Aomine-kun and the others how wrong they were._

 _ **BANG!**_

Busy pondering in his thoughts, he was taken aback when he heard an incredibly loud noise from his back. It seems that some kind of small explosion or crash happened and before he knew it, he found himself running towards the scene.

With a mixed feeling of curiosity and unconscious fear rising, he just heard a voice saying "Such misfortune!" rang out of nowhere before narrowly he misses the culprit. He was now facing a pile of cans from the mini-wreckage of a vending machine. _Maybe it's the cause of the sound?_ But even before he can step his feet forward, metal spikes suddenly appeared and darted its way towards the direction of his left foot although luckily, he managed to move it away from the sharp points of the projectiles before he gets his foot cartilage and bones pierced. _I don't want to end getting injured like what happened in the practice game between Seirin and Kise-kun's Kaijo._ He knew that such act would have left him in plight as the last time he got a head injury, he had his coach to help him.

And to his surprise, a voice coming from his left shouted at him.

"Stop terrorist! Don't move!"

That voice was overly familiar in a way, even if it's a bit different now. Peeking in his left side, he tries to look at the direction of the voice to see nothing, just thin air, but when he looks forward…

 _Auburn hair and two curly pigtails_

"By Judgment's name, I hereby arrest you!"

" _Anou_ , this is just a misunderstanding…"

The person, or put it exactly, the girl said with such authority which make some distinguishable furrowing of brows made its way in Tetsuya's usual emotionless face as he tries to persuade his pursuer but failed to do so as the addressee seems to ignore what he was about to say.

"Do you think you can fool me?"

"No."

At this blunt reply, the girl seems to consider it for a moment and prepared to leave but then, she seems to realize that she's been fooled (or that's what she thought) so she turned back to the innocent person-turned-suspect.

"Who are you and what is yo—"

But she was surprised that the seemingly culprit was now gone. She desperately searched for the suspicious guy from the spot where she remembers him standing. There's no way he'd be gone at that speed, not if he had the speed-ability or the likes of her ability. _Where is he!? Where did he go and how did he even escape so fast!? What could be his Esper power? No…what could be his Esper Level?_

 _Twack!_

Her thoughts were cut off by a sudden tug at her sleeve. The boy was now in front of her, looking at her with cold blue eyes and an unreadable expression. Due to the sudden turn of events, she was slightly frightened as she backs off a little.

" _Anou_ …I…" The tealnette tried to explain but the girl was faster to respond.

"HOW THE HELL DID YOU APPEAR HERE SO FAST!? ARE YOU A TELEPORTER AS WELL!? WHAT IS YOUR POWER LEVEL!?"

She almost had her mini-heart attack courtesy of the pale, ghost-like entity opposite to her.

"I walked towards you, and no, I am not a teleporter."

That was only the monotone and direct reply she received, but what most surprised her is how she had not noticed the boy's unusual appearance; the boy has teal-colored hair same color as his eyes and what he said after. _Wait…it can't be!? Could this be…_

"I'm glad to see you well and healthy, Shirai Kuroko-san."

That overly-polite manner of speaking and those features, she knows them, she can't be wrong of who this person truly is.

"Te..Tetsu-nii?!"

* * *

"You think Kuroko would be fine?" Hyuga mumbled to Riko as they were just returning to the inn that they had rented. To be clear, the whole Seirin team, sans their Phantom Player, was now in their first training camp as they are busy in preparing themselves for the Winter Cup. First, they played basketball in the sands besides the sea shore. It was very disastrous since the boys found it extremely difficult to move. Kagami can't make his dunks due to the fact that he is playing in an ironic mix rough and soft surface. While he did attempt one, he ended up falling over face-first.

"Is dunking the only thing you can do, you _aho_!?" Hyuga cursed at him at one point.

After the dreaded game at the beach, they move to the bench where they were forced to play another round of a game.

And this is where they experienced something changing.

Hyuuga all got a better grip of the floor than when they used to and as a result, he all made his shots without difficulty.

Izuki noticed that his legs weren't flopping around anymore.

Even Kagami, instead of going for a dunk, he did a layup.

But if there is one thing that Riko noticed that they didn't, it's that their speed has improved _. If this continues, they'll be frightening!_ She couldn't help but grin.

"Ah, but I'm pretty sure Kuroko-kun would be fine," Riko said as they they finally sight the inn where they'll be staying for a week.

Hyuga just nodded as his gaze shifted to who knows where, "I see. But don't you think he is taking our loss against Touou too hard?"

"What do you mean, Hyuga-kun?" the brunette coach asked.

"It's just that he and Kagami act so awkwardly after the game against Aomine. Well, they did manage to make up again but from how I see it," Hyuga explains, "Kuroko is still being bothered by it. I think the reason decided to stay away for a while is because he wants to find something to finally overcome the wall that he hit."

" _Baka_ , that's his intention all along," Riko smacked him mercilessly as they finally enter the inn.

* * *

They just sat there peacefully, at some bench near a certain high school's boys' dormitory. Re-attending some memories they once had when they were younger, even before Shirai eventually chose to attend her elementary in Academy City while her older cousin chose to stay put in Tokyo and eventually become a fabled regular in the Teiko basketball team.

Shirai Kuroko, the Level 4 Teleporter and one of Judgement's fine officers, never knew Kuroko Tetsuya will be coming, much less attending at least a summer education at this place. For one, she knew how her Tetsu-nii likes so much basketball that she once said that her cousin eats, breathes, and talks nothing except that ball game. Basketball is never that big in Academy City though so it's more logical to stay in main Tokyo City.

She peered at the guy besides her, his teal-colored soft locks gliding in the air as it pass by, just like her auburn hair gracefully. He seemed to notice her action as she saw those cold yet with a tinge of baby sky blue eyes lock into her light brown eyes.

"What's the matter Kuroko-san?" still as monotonous as ever, that's Kuroko Tetsuya, except that he is using Shirai's given name—a rare thing given that he calls everyone (except his parents and elders) by their surnames even with his former and current lights.

"Nothing, it's just that I really don't expect for you to come here. To think that you'll try to take summer classes here too is really surprising Tetsu-nii!" she said incredulously which the tealnette recognizes. She never really fails to amuse him even if they were separated long time ago.

"Is that so?"

"And as I can see you're still that polite cousin and big brother figure I once known, huh? Yet you alwas rejects mom's offer to have you take your education here!" she mutters the last part with a pout.

If she does have a favorite relative among the Shirais and the Kurokos, it's a no-brainer.

It was him.

It's because she thinks of him as a kind big brother since he had no biological brother or sister on her own as she was an only child. When they're children, they lived together with his parents' wing. Even before meeting her _onee-sama_ , she used to play with him. She even got to meet his Tetsu-nii's best friend, Ogiwara Shigehiro.

Yes, the same guy who quitted the game after having their score fixed by the Generation of Miracles in the finals at **111 – 11.**

Being alone since her parents were working overseas as professional chef and overseas business consultant and they only go home once in six months, she had always looked up to her cousin and brother figure, whom she used to watch play in the streets in his fifth grade while she just stare at him. Until one day, her mom decided that it would be best for her daughter to learn independency by having her education in Academy City. From then on, the only communication the two had is by letters and as time passed, by e-mail and texting.

 _Until this day came…_

"Sorry about that, it's just that old habits are hard to break. I hope I didn't become an inconvenience to you, Kuroko-san."

He reiterates, also muttering that he's just going to attend summer classes and he'll continue his high school at some place but here. She can only shake her head in disagreement. _Why can't you study here!?_

Suddenly her cellphone rings, startling the both of them. She hurriedly opened it when she looks at her cousin that says '"excuse me'" who gave her a nod.

Answering the phone she realized who the caller is. Her eyes went wide, almost to the point that it's sparkling. Kuroko had to admit he almost got creeped out of this.

"Sorry Tetsu-nii, but I really had to go. You just have to go to that direction to reach your dorm. Okay? So if you'll excuse me, I better get my _onee-sama_ dose for today. Bye and take care!" She hugs him tightly and with that, she disappeared, or to say, teleported away.

He gazes impassively at where his cousin stood a mere minute ago. Sighing, he stood up and follows her directives. Suddenly, he remembered something and sighed once again disappointedly.

 _I forgot to tell why I am actually attending here. Well, I hope this day doesn't get bad._

With nothing much to do, he then stood up and began to walk towards the dormitory where he will stay for the remainder of the summer vacation until August ends. Picking up his ball from his duffel bag, he began to roll it in his hands. As he did so, he was wondering what he can do to make himself physically strong. _I wonder what Kagami-kun and the senpais are doing right now. Well, I'm pretty sure they are fine in their own drills._

But as he walked closer to his door, he noticed a boy kissing the ground and cans rolling here and there. _Hmmm…who could this guy be?_ But being the good person that he was, he immediately lent his help. To his amusement, that is the only time the said boy noticed him. As soon as the latter did notice the pale mop of blue hair, goose bumps rose as he staggered in fright.

" _Anou_ …do you need me to assist you uhmm…sir?" Kuroko, in his signature monotone voice, politely asked the boy that seems to be around the same age as his.

"Oh thanks…eeh!? Where the hell did you come from and when did you come here!?" The boy frantically asked as he tries desperately to gather all the rolling cans in his bare hands.

"I've been here for a while." Kuroko, already used to this kind of treatment, deadpanned.

"Oh… _souka_ …" The boy could only sweat dropped to that.

After helping the guy picked up the cans, Kuroko observed him for a moment as the latter dust off his shirt. He then noticed some things. First, his somewhat peculiar but unique spiky hair is somewhat as atrocious as his own bed hair. _But nevertheless, it actually looks good on him._ Secondly, the manner of this guy's speaking certainly looks familiar. He just can't think what or when did he heard him but for some strange reasons, it does click to him somehow. Third, there is some weird aura around this guy. It seems as if Kuroko's misdirection and lack of presence was shaking off as per now the boy could easily notice him, not that he care about it too much. It's just that he's happy that someone can care to notice him for a while.

"It looks like you are new here," the boy with spiky, jet black hair said, "By the way, I'm Kamijou Touma and thanks for the help."

"Kuroko Tetsuya," the tealnette replied, "Well…technically, I'm new here but I have a cousin who is studying here. Also, my stay in Academy City won't be permanent since I would only be taking summer classes here."

"Oh, is that so…," Kamijou said while opening his dorm room. But when the door opens…

 _THUD!_

The poor guy accidentally stepped on a lone, forgotten can and from there, he ended up tripping himself as all the cans once again scattered in the floor. The boy then was thrown violently towards their couch. After his motion came to a halt, he then spouts what could be his main signature line that was so loud that it can be even heard outside the dormitory.

"SUCH MISFORTUNE!"

And so, Kuroko Tetsuya suddenly remembered who this person is.

 _I see now._

* * *

After Kuroko once again helps the guy named Kamijou Touma from his another embarrassing incident, he then confirms that this is the one whom causes him to be blamed as a terrorist by none other than his own cousin. Upon seeing the number of cans the other boy is as well as the main tag line he just used, the Seirin player concluded that it was enough evidence. Upon pondering, he fails to notice a white blur heading towards them.

"Touma! Food! Food! Foooooood!"

A little silver-haired nun-alike _loli_ dressed in white habit with golden trims launches herself forward towards the unsuspecting jet-black haired guy.

"Dammit! I just brought some drinks and even got into trouble along the way, you know!"

"I don't care! I want to eat now!"

The girl stomped her foot and leapt on top of Kamijou's head where she chomped his head down like a hungry beast greedily biting a deer's flesh.

"GAAAAAAAAAAH! INDEEEEX!"

With this entire commotion occurring like it was just a normal thing, Kuroko can only raise his eyebrows in both curiosity and amusement. The boy and girl duo then runs into his direction, running in circles that can make the tealnette go dizzy as Kamijou tries to take off a hungry Index on his head and directed his pleading look to Kuroko. _Please, help me here!_

Sighing, he tries to gather the girl's attention by making his soft voice louder to call her out but she didn't even budge and his efforts was all in vain as the commotion continued.

" _Anou_ …please let him go now…"

"Kuroko, please help me take her deadly fangs off before she eventually turns me into mincemeat!"

Kamijou, mentioning his name got the girl's attention towards the teal-haired spectator. Flinching once the girl look to his direction, he took a step back as the girl's eyes widens in both horror and surprise upon noticing that they had company with them right now.

"Eeeeekh!? Who are you!? How long have you been here with us!?"

The little girl named Index, now noticing his pale presence, jumps off from Kamijou's head. Out of a mixed feeling of curiosity and suspicion, she walks near the blank Kuroko, eyeing him as if he's some sort of an alien or something strange.

He bows his head slightly at the acknowledgement as the silver-haired nun was only inches away from him.

"I've been here the whole time…Index-san."

"Eh…you're strange."

He raises a brow upon the girl's description of him. _Since when did he get that compliment? Normally, they'll say that I look like a ghost._

"Well, it's going to be late now, Kamijou-kun and Index-san. I'll be going to my own room now. See you tomorrow, then," He then leaves the gaping pair as he walks towards the hall since his room is on a floor lower.

* * *

The next day, Kuroko had woken up early with his usual bed head. Picking up his basketball, he then begins dribbling it hard as his own form of exercise. _I think I need to do this first as a first step in overhauling my style._ He didn't intend to totally abandon his style of passing but instead, he wanted to create new playing style that can make the most out of his team and Kagami. _At least, that's what I said._ He started by doing a simply dribble and afterwards, he began to do a simple crossover. The result was not quite amusing; he ended up hitting his own bed which did not do any damage fortunately. Sighing, he decided to practice longer as he then stops, take a towel, and entered the bathroom to take his shower.

After finishing in taking his bath, he dried himself completely and wore a simple white uniform and black pants coupled with his Gel Hoop shoes. He also took his small suit case as he finally went outside of the dormitory and off he went to his temporary school everyone calls as the certain high school.

Since the school isn't far away from his dormitory, Kuroko was able to reach the school in no time. The certain high school is located on a hill, and one needs to climb an inclination and a number of steps to reach its main entrance though there is also an alternate way into the grounds, as staff members can park their vehicles inside the school grounds.

The establishment looks like a typical Japanese-style school building, much like Seirin High school and his former school in Teiko Middle School. The school has a large main building, towering several stories and with several other buildings surrounding the main one. Like any standard Japanese school, they have lockers for the students, parking space for the staff, a faculty room, a cafeteria, and an auditorium, and the roofs are apparently accessible to any student in the school. Kuroko chuckles at this as he began to ascend into the steps.

 _At least, there isn't anything abnormal here._

Now that he checks his clock, Kuroko notices that he is actually five minutes late, if his schedule is right. _It's great though that I'm only 5 minutes late. I must pick up my speed then._ He then walked briskly as soon as he reached the halls of the school but in doing so…

 _Bam!_

"Ow…" the tealnette winched slightly as he suddenly bumped into some one. Looking around, he notices a pink-haired girl almost the same height as Index but much more shorter suddenly looking at him like he was some kind of a phantom. _Well…he did get that moniker, after all._

"Eh!? Where did you come from!?" The girl asked in fear as she was shaking.

"I've come here," Was the curt reply of the tealnette.

"O-Okay…"

Kuroko then looked at her closely. _She must be someone familiar in this place._ " _Anou…ojou-san_ , do you know where I can find a teacher named Komoe Tsukuyomi-sensei?"

Hearing Kuroko's question, the girl smiled and replied, " _Hai,_ you are looking at her right now."

He remains impassive and stoic, though his eyes seem to widen a bit at this current revelation. _The girl, no, woman that looks like a-10-year-old looks at him incredulously as he seems not even bothered by it._ _Is this some result of Academy City's bio-engineering stuff?_

"Sorry, I never thought that you were a little elementary student looking teacher, Komoe-sensei."

Hearing the boy's blunt reply, Komoe become very frustrated by the way of this boy to speak the truth so bluntly. _That's so harsh and direct for you to say, young man!_ She was taking all her energy not to lash out, not realizing that the boy in her front was a newbie here and it's not like he even know a lot of things in this place.

"So you were the applicant for this year's Summer Cram School, uhm… Kuroko Tetsuya-chan? That's your name right? I checked it here in my papers and I saw your profile. So you're not originally from here?"

" _Hai_."

"Then please follow me, I believe we're already late."

"I am sorry for being the cause of this unruly situation." Once again, Kuroko's over politeness takes over as he bows lowly in gratitude, something which Komoe could only sweat drop. _This boy could even be more peculiar than one of my particular students._

 _ **Meanwhile…**_

"The summer's so hot lately! I've wondered where we could have been for now instead of getting stuck here, ya know," a bluenette guy with piercings complained as he sat besides a familiar spiky haired boy, "Hey, Kami-yan, I was just wondering what is your secret in making Komoe-sensei fall in love with you? We're hotties too, nya."

"I don't think giving me a lot of stuff to do means she had feelings about me. Stop being stupid, Aogami," Kamijou's nickname is heard as he speaks to a man that goes by the name Aogami Pierce, the bluenette guy.

"Are you too blind to see it? He gives you a lot of punishments!" a third guy named Tsuchimikado Motoharu who looks to be the most troublesome of the three, butted in, "That means something, Kami-yan!"

"Shut up…" Kamijou irritatingly answered as he was about to sleep when.

"You three! What the hell are you discussing about, huh!?"

The three boys stiffened as that voice belonged to none other than Fukiyose Seiri, the class president and acting representative of Class 1 – 7. She is the girl with the famous large forehead, hence, the nickname "Forehead Deluxe." She's quite slender yet has solid body build with a quite pretty face, giving her the looks of a model. Yet, her temperamental mood is what's she's more famous for.

"It's something perverted, right? Then I have to deal with your perverse notions!" She then was about to punch the three with her fists when suddenly, she heard the voice of their homeroom teacher cutting in.

"Fukiyose-chan, I suggest you stop that for the moment, Homeroom's about to start." Grumbling about not being able to deliver her punishments, Fukiyose reluctantly dragged her feet back to her chair as the three were able to heave a sigh. _That was close!_

""Class, this is Kuroko Tetsuya, he will be joining us the rest of this summer but he will, again transfer once he finishes this term. Kuroko-kun, can you please tell us about yourself? Kuroko-kun?" Komoe, who was busy introducing their new classmate for now was not surprised to see the boy gone. _Eh? Where did he go!?_

" _Doumo._ I'm Kuroko Tetsuya. Nice to meet you."

"Eeeeeh!?"

For the first time, the class sees him as Kuroko sighs.

 _Here we go again…_

* * *

 ** _Sneak peak for the next chapter!_**

 **Kuroko Tetsuya finds himself in a certain high school's summer class and apologies to you all, it seemed like he has forgotten to ask his cousin about how he can get strong and it seemed like a certain Hime girl's debut has been delayed slightly...oh well...**

 **Anyway, how will Kuroko adjust to his new (but temporary) life? Can he even endure the bickerings of a certain idiot trio? And once again, who is this Deep Blood user (this is serious now hehe) and just what the hell is Ars Magna?**

 **See you in the next chapter!**


	3. Calm Before the Storm

""Class, this is Kuroko Tetsuya, he will be joining us the rest of this summer but he will, again transfer once he finishes this term. Kuroko-kun, can you please tell us about yourself? Kuroko-kun?" Komoe, who was busy introducing their new classmate for now was not surprised to see the boy gone. Eh? Where did he go!?

" _Doumo_. I'm Kuroko Tetsuya. Nice to meet you."

"Eeeeeh!?"

For the first time, the class sees him as Kuroko sighs.

 _Here we go again…_

"I didn't notice him immediately!"

"Since when did he got there?"

"His presence is surprisingly almost non-existent!"

"Hey, don't you think that guy is strange?"

"Yeah! We didn't even see him from the start! What is his ability?"

"Are you kidding me? Look here, when I didn't focus on where he is, I thought that he's already gone!"

"What is his level? I'm curious."

But most of all…

"Eeeeeekh!? Y-you!"

The one who shrieked last was none other than a certain spiky haired boy—the infamous "God of Pestilence" who goes by the name Kamijou Touma.

"Eh? Kami-yan, you know him?" Tsuchimikado asked suddenly as Fukiyose also glanced at the spiky haired boy, seemingly getting curious as to why the two seemed to be familiar with each other.

"Ah, it's good to see you again, Kamijou-kun," Kuroko just deadpanned as by now, all the attention is now darted towards the tealnette.

"Eh? You two knew each other?" Komoe asked suspiciously, seeing a similar reaction from the class.

"Uh, he helped me yesterday." Kamijou, scratching his head sheepishly replied with a chuckle. And with a nod from Tetsuya, Komoe then decided something as she grinned like a Chesire cat.

"Since you already knew each other then, Kuroko-chan you can sit next to Kamijou-chan at the back. Kamijou-chan, I can entrust his tour around the school with you right?" With a wide grin, Kamijou then answered 'yes' in an energetic manner, seeing as he can pay his debt to the teal-haired boy who remained standing in front of the class. "But first, you have to properly introduce yourself to us Kuroko-chan."

Sighing, the tealnette nevertheless then took the floor and cleared his throat, " _Ohayou, minna-san_ , I'm Kuroko Tetsuya from Seirin High School. I attended Teiko Middle School and played varsity basketball in those two schools. I also had good marks in humanities, history, and geography and my favorite snack is a vanilla milkshake. Nice to meet you all." He then concludes with a bow.

"Okay then," Komoe replied, "You may take your sit."

Kuroko seemed to hear some of his new classmates' whispers as he walks towards the direction of Kamijou's desk. His hobby of sharp yet discreet human observation is functioning functioning in his benefit as he observes them interact with each other.

"T-Teiko!? You mean that famous school outside of Academy City!?"

"Yep, that school that hosts that famous basketball team."

"Basketball team? Ah, you mean those feared Generation of Miracles."

 _Generation of Miracles? I heard of that group once._ Fukiyose said to her mind as her brown eyes narrows towards Kuroko, who high-fives with the guy she claims to "hate" from the bottom of her heart.

Kuroko sighed, seeing that his new classmates were talking about him, not that he cares anyway. He then looks at his front, where he sees Kamijou grinning at him fondly, "And here, I never thought you would attend here. I was thinking you would go to schools such as Nagatenjouki or Sakugawa High."

"It seems that it's perfect here," Kuroko replied as then starts a conversation with the boy of spiky black hair, "After all, having a summer class here isn't really my objective but rather, a form of activity to help me prevent getting rusty in academic matters."

"Eh? So if you're not here for summer class, then what's your main goal?" Kamijou asked, his curiosity piqued.

Kuroko seemed to flinch as he was hesitating to tell to his newly-found friend about his plan to take down the Generation of Miracles—all by himself if necessary. It was quite ironic since he himself never had the word "independent" in his dictionary when it comes to basketball as he valued teamwork and having fun at the sport over meaningless victory—such as how Teiko mercilessly toyed around Meiko and his best friend's school. But seeing that he just introduced himself as a member of the Teiko basketball team, he felt like it would be nice if he at least tells the spiky haired boy why he is here, "My middle school basketball team had one core principle and that is winning is everything. Instead of teamwork, we pushed the individual talents of the Generation of Miracles to win. Nothing can beat us but at the same time, I felt like we weren't a team."

For some reason, Kamijou can feel a tinge of pain in his heart while listening to Kuroko's story. _I don't understand it wholly but I can tell he is somewhat pained by his past._

"The five prodigies approved of it but I felt that something was lacking," Kuroko added.

"Uhm…so what? At least, you are winning, right? And what do you mean "five prodigies?" You said you came from a school with a strong team so I guess you should count yourself in," Kamijou interjected.

Kuroko paused for a minute before replying, "I used to think that way but right now, I don't know. I also know winning matters so I don't exactly know what's wrong with it. But if anything, the moment we've become strong, the once happy team became a lonely one ironically because of winning. We've may have conquered the top but we aren't the same anymore. And let me correct you on one thing, Kamijou-kun."

The raven only listened closely.

"I'm not truly a prodigy despite having teamed up with the _Kiseki no Sedai_ but rather, they're the true prodigies _._ As a matter of fact, I'm a shadow. The ace of our middle school team was my light. The two of us were complete opposites, like the moon and the sun shining brightly at different ways. My basics in basketball were mediocre to terrible as best while he transcends above the rest of the miracles," Kuroko was referring to Aomine on this as he went on, "But the stronger the light, the darker the shadow, and the more it accentuates the light."

Kamijou can't tell if he was picking up but he listened anyway.

"When we all separated to join our choice of high school teams, we all swore an oath that whoever comes on top is the strongest," Kuroko continued, "Of the six regulars, I was the weakest out of them. I was able to find my new light in Seirin High School but apparently, it wasn't enough as we were beaten horribly by my former light in the Interhigh preliminaries. It was painful for us to take but we took it as a cue to become stronger. Right now, they are now training but I decided to separate myself for now. My real goal why I'm here in Academy City is to become strong on my own. I wanted to be strong enough to be able to stand to my feet to help my team win against them. But most of all, I wanted to be strong enough to force the Generation of Miracles to recognize my style and to make them love basketball again."

Kuroko finished his somewhat long explanation as to why he was here in Academy City. Kamijou was dumbfounded. _I don't know why but I can tell this guy must have gone through something so painful. But it's amazing that he still had a very tough and positive personality. In fact, I can say that I can relate to him._

"Wow…that was simply so dramatic!"

The two turned towards the source of a third voice and it turns out to be none other than Tsuchimikado, Aogami, and Fukiyose, who was curious at what they are talking about and thinking it must be something perverted, she took it upon herself to discipline the two but the moment she actually heard what Kuroko was talking about, she was speechless.

"Yeah, it was so dramatic that I don't even know if I understand all of it," Aogami said in a shrugging matter.

"I hate to admit it but I also didn't understand it as well," Fukiyose gritted her teeth upon realizing she doesn't understood it at all, "And I'm pretty sure Kamijou didn't understood it as well, considering it's him."

"Hey, I'm here you know," the mentioned boy grimaced.

"It doesn't matter," Kuroko replied as he smiled towards the spiky haired boy, "I'm pretty sure that deep inside his heart, Kamijou-kun understands my words. _Arigatou_ for listening to me, Kamijou-kun." He then bowed deeply in respect to the boy, who only sweat dropped as well as Fukiyose and the reckless pair of blue and yellow.

 _This guy can't be helped being over-polite!_

 _Eeeeh!? Does he need to do that?_

 _You're strange, Kuroko._

"By the way, Kamijou-kun," Kuroko suddenly asked the boy, "We're only half day today, right? Do you have some free time with me later? I wanted to personally show you something. My style of basketball."

Kamijou only nodded and was about to say something but…

"Then I'm going with you two," Fukiyose declared, "You can't say no and I don't care what you will say. Who knows what Kamijou would do to you but…"

"Excuse me but," Kuroko cut her off, "First of all, I was only asking Kamijou-kun out and not you. I didn't even invite you. Second, stop treating me like a child, please. I'm pretty sure he's not that bad of a person."

The whole class just stammered seeing _dictator_ Fukiyose Seiri getting defied—and by a newcomer, nonetheless.

The Forehead Delux simply bit her lip, seeing that Kuroko had a point after all. "Sorry Fukiyose but I'm with Kuro-yan on this one," Tsuchimikado said, "It's not like Kami-yan would do something so bad. Even a playboy like him is too much nice for such ulterior motives."

"Fine!" Fukiyose ran her hand in her face, "But the second I hear something bad happens, don't expect that I would be kind to the four of you." She then leaves and takes her seat. Kuroko didn't know how to react to a sassy girl like her. On the hindsight, he knew he shouldn't be surprise with such people. His coach, after all, proved to be even scarier.

* * *

After classes had ended, Kuroko, Kamijou, Tsuchimikado, and Aogami decided to eat in a nearby restaurant. The short day was quite fun, at least for the Phantom Sixth Man. The class had started with Komoe being the homeroom teacher. The class had played some games, with Kamijou being forced to participate since this game is the only way to salvage his low scores. The class also got another lecture on Esper abilities and Personality Reality, the latter of which Kuroko suddenly listened with great interest. From how he understood Komoe's explanation, a Personal Reality refers to the reality created by students who undergo the Power Curriculum Program, and replace their normal reality and sense. As explained further by their teacher, it is a type of reality that is unique for each individual, and is the very foundation of an esper's power. Specifically, it is the source from which all esper powers and phenomena are brought into the real world. _In other words, it's like delusions and strong faith for your own potential that is turned into a reality, depending on how the person sees himself._ Kuroko thought to himself as he jots down everything in his notebook. _Strong faith for your own potential, huh?_ He suddenly was reminded of Kiyoshi's words when he first met the Uncrowned General when the latter was released from the hospital.

 _Is that all you can do? Believe in your potential a little bit more._

Those words echoed in his blank mind and they are still stuck in his thoughts as currently, the four brightly-colorful heads are now sitting in the table. While the other three had ordered such heavy food, Kuroko simply ordered two pieces of sandwiches and five large cups of vanilla milkshakes, which he started to sip anyway.

"Is that all you're going to eat, Kuro-yan?" Aogami asked curiously, eyeing the large number of milkshakes in his front in contrast with the merely two chicken sandwiches, "And I knew you said you're a vanilla milkshake addict but I never knew you're this obsessed with that shake."

"I like them." Kuroko's reply was stoic as he continued to slurp on the desserts.

But as they continue to eat, Kamijou continue to ponder upon the words of his newly-found friend, who seemed to be busy with his milkshakes. _I just can't believe guys like them still exist. But one more thing, he says he wants to get stronger but how will he do that?_

"Just how would you get stronger, then?" Tsuchimikado unconsciously decided to ask the question for Kamijou as Kuroko stopped sipping the shakes. He looks like he was hesitating to answer before he finally replied, "I do have some ideas but I don't know how to start. My shooting is almost non-existent and my dribbling is poor. Plus, my stamina isn't that strong. My forte really is about passing and misdirection."

"Misdi—what?" Aogami seemed to get lost.

"Misdirection is simply the art of trickery," Tsuchimikado smiled, "It's a technique which diverts the opponents gaze, allowing its user to disappear out of sight. It's mostly used in street magic and circus."

"Well…I don't know but that explanation doesn't look concrete," Kamijou said, yawning ashe finishes his plate of chicken and potatoes.

"It would be better if I showed it to you three," Kuroko said as he brings out a basketball which he had to pick up from their dormitory before going to the restaurant with the three idiots, "I would be able to demonstrate it to you three."

So after they all ate in the restaurant, they all paid their bills immediately and it caused another commotion as the waitress didn't notice Kuroko at all until the latter went up-close to her, causing the poor lady to scream in fright and in turn, causing unwanted attention from all the other customers in the place.

"Man, I really can't believe that poor waitress didn't see you until you walked closer to her. Your presence really is week," Tsuchimikado joked.

"People I meet often say that to me," Kuroko deadpanned as they are now walking in the streets to find a nearby basketball court. Luckily, they spotted a street court not far from the student dormitory of three people in the group as they immediately walked towards the place. Kuroko smiled as he didn't know until this very moment where he can continue playing. _At least, I can practice in this place._

Seeing that the court is deserted (since it's almost not being used), they immediately entered it and they all removed their white uniforms. "Okay, first and foremost, I wanted Aogami-kun to stand there in the left wing." The other bluenette did as he was told and began to move in the corner left. "I wanted Tsuchimikado-kun to stand before me as if he's guarding me." The blonde then walked closer as he places himself in front of Kuroko. "Lastly, I wanted Kamijou-kun to stand in the right wing of the court." The spiky haired boy did as he was told and went to the right corner.

Kuroko then passes the ball to Aogami and yells, "Now, here's how I do my simple tap passes. In basketball, the primary target of the players is always the ball so they never took their eyes off the leather basketball. I take advantage of that quirk in passing. When the ball is being passed, I redirect it to the one who is free. Aogami-kun, pass it to me." The bluenette did as he was told as he then throws the ball to Kuroko, who was just merely looking at the blonde in the eye (or his shades). In a split second, the ball was tapped very fast by Kuroko in one hand even before Tsuchimikado was able to react and it ended up in the hands of Kamijou, who was merely stunned to just see the ball get fast into his possession. _Wait…what was that!? The ball looked like it made a curve the moment Aogami passed it to Kuroko. I didn't even notice him touching…hold on! I think I got the idea of playing style._

"I think I get the gist of his playing style," Kamijou suddenly said while holding the ball, "Since he said that players don't take their eyes off the ball, then they can get confused by these passes and they won't be able to respond. Coupled with his lack of presence, he would be able to pass with ease to free players."

Kuroko was about to comment that he was right when somebody else spoke earlier.

"I didn't even knew Kamijou can explain something given his stupid brain."

The four people turned towards the source of the voice and were all very much surprise to see Fukiyose, who was standing on the sidelines while eating a healthy bun.

"Fukiyose-san, what are you doing here?" Kuroko asked with a slight suspicion that she's been stalking the four of them even while they were still in the restaurant.

"Why? Can't I even be allowed here?" The girl with large forehead haughtily replied as she puts her hands in her hips as a show of authority and confident, "I'm simply making sure that you don't get influenced by these three idiots."

Feeling that she's someone who's too stubborn for her own good, Kuroko then decided to end the day by saying while seemingly disregarding the fact that she's there, "Well, _arigatou_ guys for accompanying me anyway. Let's all go home right now." He said as he motions Kamijou to go along with him. Going with the flow, he and Kuroko began to move out of the court, only to b stopped by the Forehead Deluxe, who shouts, "H-Hey! The second I came here, you decided to leave! Just what were you really doing here!?"

"Kuroko just demonstrated how his basketball style works," Kamijou said blandly, "And it's pretty amazing when you actually see it."

"I have decided," Kuroko suddenly said as he faces the spiky haired boy, "Tomorrow's a Saturday, right? Are you free tomorrow at 7 am?"

"Yeah, why? I'll just have to buy a book tomorrow and that's in the afternoon." Kamijou replied with a slight curiosity at what his dorm mate planned to do.

'I'll tell you once we meet tomorrow," Kuroko said, picking up his basketball as he then waves his hands as a sign that he'll go ahead to the dorm, "If you'll so something else for today, then I'll just call it a day. See you later in the dorm—"

"Wait! I'll also go home with you, Kuroko," the spiky haired boy suddenly interjected as he ran to join the tealnette, "Take care guys!" He said to his two idiotic friends and their class president as he then leaves them to join Kuroko. The remaining three were just bewildered. "It seems that everytime Fukiyose appears, Kuroko disappears. You're jinxing it!" Tsuchimikado joked with a chuckle.

"Sh-shut up!" The Iron Wall Girl growled.

Meanwhile, the two boys of black and blue are already on their way towards their dormitory. As Kamijou was busy thinking what he would cook so he can satisfy his partner and gluttonous freeloader of a nun, Kuroko was still basically thinking of the same thing that has been hounding him since his loss against Aomine. _How will I become stronger? I can't even shoot or dribble properly and passing is my only forte._ Suddenly, he then felt his phone vibrating as he pulls it out.

 _From: Shirai Kuroko_

 _Subject: How's your first day in school?_

 _Message: I know you'll say that it's just fine so scratch that._

Kuroko just low-key chuckled at this message. _Typical of Kuroko-san._ Suddenly, something hit him. _Oh yeah, she's from Judgement so she must know a thing about_ _my particular goal._ Quickly, he then types a message.

 _To: Shirai Kuroko_

 _Subject: How to become strong in the game of basketball_

 _Message: Kuroko-san, please forgive me for telling this but the truth is, I'm actually here basically because I wanted to become strong. I was about to tell you this yesterday but you left earlier than expected so I decided to tell you now. I was basically having some problems on where to start to become strong. You know that my misdirection only relies on quick tap passing and my fundamentals suck as well as my stamina. I needed some help._

After sending and waiting a reply, he immediately receives an incoming text from his cousin. _Well…that was fast._

 _From: Shirai Kuroko_

 _Subject: I never expected this_

 _Message: But you said you wanted to becomes strong and yet, you keep telling yourself that your only forte. I think you needed to really work on your basic fundamentals of shooting and dribbling. Just simply bemoaning your failure in not being able to learn the basics properly is just unacceptable._

For some reason, Kuroko felt touched and pricked in his heart at the same time when Shirai, for once, berated him for thinking such things. _Ku-Kuroko-san…_ He didn't know why but for some reason, he felt she was right at this moment. _I see. I see now why Kiyoshi-senpai said that I had to believe in my own potential._ He felt like he wanted to cry a bit but he held back as he then sends his message.

 _To: Shirai Kuroko_

 _Subject: I'm Sorry for acting so weak_

 _Message: I think I know what to do now. But on another side, I think by trying to learn some new techniques, I would gradually abandon my style, which has become a part of who I am. I don't know what to do._

After a minute, he then receives another reply.

 _From: Shirai Kuroko_

 _Subject: You really are an idiot_

 _Message: I understand that your misdirection thingy and flashy passes are your signature styles so that's something I won't touch anymore. I'm not saying that you discard your current style. I'm simply saying that you should create a new style for yourself that can maximize what you have. If you just stick with the current state of your present style, then you won't really progress at all._

"I see," he muttered to himself. He was reminded of Komoe's words in their lesson in Personal Reality. _Personal Reality is being cut off from proper reality and achieving one that differs from ours. If you strongly believe and hold on to that alternate reality, your powers would grow._ Now, he isn't really planning to advance some esper powers on his own but he thought a bit about the pinkette's words. _If I replace my current reality with something that is stronger than Aomine-kun and the rest, I might be able to become—no, I will do it._

He then sends a message to Shirai again.

 _To: Shirai Kuroko_

 _Subject: I needed some help_

 _Message: I know this is too much but can you help me become stronger? I just need to have some idea about the basics in proper dribbling and shooting and I'll sort out something for the rest. Can you also help me figure out how to boost up my stamina? You know very much that my stamina's also lacking._

After sending another one, he again receives a reply.

 _From: Shirai Kuroko_

 _Subject: Argh…_

 _Message: But fine then. Since my 'onee-sama would be away tomorrow since she said she needed to do something, I would be glad to help. And don't worry if you think I won't be able to help. Like you, I also played basketball in physical education classes and in intramurals so I know a thing or two on what I will teach you. About your stamina, well I do have something in my mind but I would just tell you tomorrow. Is 7 am ok for tomorrow?"_

Kuroko chuckles as he then replied a 'yes' on his phone. After a while…

 _From: Shirai Kuroko_

 _Subject: All set_

 _Message: My 'onee-sama' is already here so if you don't mind, I have to go. See you tomorrow and I love you!_

"Onee-sama?" Kuroko raised his eyebrows at the word for big sister. _That must have been a close friend of hers._ He then folds his phone and to his amusement, they were now standing in the building and when he turned to his left, he saw Kamijou glancing at him like he got freaked out.

" _Anou_ …what's wrong?"

"Well…it looks like you just spoke to someone that's important," Kamijou replied while they are taking the elevator. Kuroko simply nodded, "Oh…" the tealnette suddenly said, "I actually do not need your help anymore tomorrow at 7 am. I already have someone who just answered my problem."

"Is that so? Good luck then," the spiky haired boy said as he walks out first, "See you tomorrow." As the elevator goes up one more floor, Kuroko was now very certain on what he'll do despite having no real concrete answers yet.

 _I'll attain my own Personal Reality to become stronger._

* * *

The sun was barely up, but Kuroko was wide awake. He got up out of his bed and put on simple shorts and t-shirt as well as his Gel Hoop basketball shoes after taking his bath. He then took his basketball and went out to the same street basketball area where he and the Delta Trio had just went to. He then began to dribble the ball as he blankly looks at the hoop. _Today is the day I'll slowly make my own Personal Reality._ He then picks the ball up and shoots it—and as expected, it didn't go in. It didn't discourage him further as he then began to dribble and dribble some more as he was running. For almost an hour, Kuroko warmed up his body as he awaits the arrival of a certain twin-tailed teleporter. He dribbled, made some notoriously bad layups and jogged. Until…

"I see that your form's really terrible."

Glancing over to his left, the tealnette saw his cousin now coming inside the court with a bag containing bottles of sports drinks. "Knowing you, I'd waste time if I'll go to your dormitory so I decided to gamble and go straight here."

"Lucky for you, I was already here, Kuroko-san," Kuroko smiled as he wipes off the sweat in his face.

"Well, we have no time to waste, Tetsu-nii if you wanted to become stronger," Shirai said in an urgent tone as she joins her cousin on the court. The tealnette then passes the basketball to the smaller Shirai, who then motions that they do a one-on-one. When both were on their feet, Shirai stood in front of Kuroko in a defensive stance as if telling him to go and try to get past her. Kuroko moved to the left then right, but every time he did so, Shirai would move to match him.

"Tetsu-nii, if you're being blocked, you have to move faster and smarter than that." Shirai smiled at him. "Even someone like Shirai Kuroko would never be stopped by a simple block such as this." Startled at the statement, Kuroko paused a while and in that moment of hesitation, Shirai stole the ball out of Kuroko's hands. She chortled loudly as she made her way to the net, and made a smooth layup.

"That's not fair, Kuroko-san," Kuroko frowned, "Of course, you had more skills since you're in Judgement."

"Life's not really fair, Tetsu-nii," Shirai shrugged. Kuroko just shook his head at Shirai. In truth, he hated when his ball gets stolen.

"So how do you suppose I get pass blockers the way a normal player would or at least you would?" Kuroko couldn't help but smirk at his own cousin. Shirai had an expression of surprise by looking at her cousin's smirking face, but then it changed to playful grin.

"That's quite simple, Tetsu-nii," she began, continuing to dribble the ball. She dribbled until she reached Kuroko and looked at him dead in the eyes. "I would confuse my blockers," she said as she swiftly moved to the left and then to the right. "Moving like that, or…" she broke off, Kuroko seeing Shirai's eyes look to the left. Seeing his cousin shift a little, Kuroko thought that Shirai would've moved in that direction. However, to his shock, she went right, leaving him in a state of shock. But then he heard Shirai talking. "…I'd deceive them by making them think they know which direction I'm going."

"It's the eyes, isn't it?" Kuroko asked.

Shirai nodded as she explains. "In my experience, my opponents are always looking at my face and not the ball as they want to know where I'm going to move next. A person's eyes often tell where they intend to go next, be it passing the ball or simply trying to outwit their marks. So if I look left, the defense is going to assume that I'm going to go left, so I would quickly cross over and go right instead."

Kuroko made a mental note of this. One way to get pass blockers is through the deception of the eyes. For Kuroko that seems easy enough but he knew that the trick won't work every time. He then brought his mind back to reality, as he felt a soft tap on his shoulders. Turning sideways, he saw Shirai trying to catch his attention.

"Kuroko-san, what are you doing?" He asked.

"You spaced out for a while there." She sighed.

"Ah, is there another way to get pass blockers? That trick won't work every time."

"Of course, there's the cliché but an optional way to get past your opponents." Shirai perked up. "You force your way through."

Kuroko look at her like she was some crazy kid, "Force? Wouldn't that pick up a foul?"

"No and that would be unnecessary if you have some necessary tools. Using your body's speed, you can get pass regular blockers. What you would have to do is continuously move left and right at a speed. Doing that, you build up momentum to make a break at whichever direction, leaving your opponents in your dust." Looking at Kuroko's face, she knew that the boy was trying to imagine it. "Much like how your former light in Aomine gets pass when he's blocked though I would suggest you should build up your speed and stamina first." In this instant, she basically her cousin's face light up as though struck with a brilliant idea.

* * *

Both cousins lay on the court, panting for air after almost four and a half hours in just trying to build up Kuroko's fundamentals. The latter was the worst affected since his body isn't as strong as the body of Shirai, who has been exposed to a lot of dangers and physical tasks intended for men. Simply put, Kuroko was tired and worn out. Shirai sighed at this as she gets up to get their sports drinks. She made a mental note to do some speed and stamina training for her cousin. So far, in terms of moves, he's able to get pass a single block which she drilled hard on her cousin until he finally made a clean dribble and as a result, he surprised his cousin by being able to now perform simple crossovers and such. However, this is just the start, Kuroko knows that it's still a long path before he finally is able to master what he needs for an improved style of his misdirection.

Nevertheless, it was a good start. _At least, I have laid the foundation of my Personal Reality._

Suddenly, the two heard Shirai's phone suddenly went off and Kuroko swore he saw his cousin's eyes widened out like this was some kind of emergency. Quickly getting her phone, Shirai then listened to her caller and with every second passing, it looks like this is important as Shirai listened with great urgency. After she finally puts down her phone, she then said, "Sorry tetsu-nii but I really have to go now! Judgment's duty is calling. I'll just text you when I'll give your modules for your stamina and speed training. Bye and I love you!" Before his eyes, Shirai simply teleported herself away. _That's why I like my cousin._ Kuroko can't help but feel proud to have such a wonderful cousin whom he can fully depend for the moment. _And right now, what can I do for the moment?_

He then decided to go to a nearby fast food chain where he could eat some lunch. _I'm very famished at the moment but I'm also pretty lazy at the moment boiling some eggs._ He then got up from his feet and had to drag himself towards their student dormitory due to his body very tired. He only replaced his upper shirt with a fresh white t-shirt as he was getting lazy to even take a shower. He removed his shoes and socks and decided to put on slippers to have his feet freshen up by natural air. After getting his money and some things, he then went out of the student dormitory and began to walk.

Using his map of the city, he navigated his way towards a certain fast food restaurant in Academy City: Macronall Hamburger. It caught his attention as he was searching his map so he decided he might as well go there. While he was walking in the streets, Kuroko was busy using his exceptionally sharp human observation to watch those he passes by. He notices a group of security bots patrolling nearby while a cleaning robot is busy sweeping a nearby park. _When will Tokyo eventually have these kinds of technology?_ Kuroko wondered as he came from a place where cleaning and garbage collecting is still done primarily by men.

After wandering around the streets, he finally found the two-storey restaurant which is lying on the opposite street on the other side of the road. Kuroko then walked faster to be able to get inside the building but as he did, he didn't expect to meet a familiar trio of idiots and a silver-haired _loli._

" _Are_ …you are all here as well?"

* * *

Needless to say, Kuroko suddenly ran into the trio of Kamijou, Tsuchimikado, and Aogami as well as Index, who was tagging along with the three of them. Apparently, the four had originally decided to go to a desserts store called 326 Ice Cream, which sells sweets at a ridiculous price of ¥3,600 but the store was closed by the management for the day so they decided to go the the hamburger restaurant.

And so, Kamijou ended up treating the four of them into the restaurant as Index was jubilant in chanting, "Shakes! Shakes! Three shake drinks!" as all of them begin to take the stairs so they can get a vacant table in the second floor. The spiky haired boy sighed as he realized how much money he had lost for today.

"Thanks for the treat, Kamijou-kun," Kuroko deadpanned while holding his tray of a vanilla milkshake and a burger.

"Sorry Kami-yan!" Tsuchimikado mockingly apologized.

"Letting you treat us!" Aogami connected it as they all went upstairs.

The boy wasn't amused at all. "So…it was all my treat in the end." He didn't have the energy to complain though so he quietly follows them upstairs. When he finally was able to step his foot in the second floor, he head Index shout, "Touma! Over here!" He saw the nun waving while strangely, the three other guys haven't yet sat on a table where they are standing next.

'Oh so you found a place in this crowd—heh!?" Kamijou though wasn't able to react properly when he saw that the table they were supposed to seat in was occupied by someone else. Looking further closer, the boy saw that it was woman sleeping in the table. She has long, straight, black hair, and is seen wearing _miko_ outfit—the one being used by ancient Shinto priests who perform shrine functions, perform ceremonial dances, offer _omikuji_ fortune telling, sell souvenirs, and assist a Kannushi in Shinto rites.

"This looks suspicious for me," Kuroko said in his usual monotone voice as he began to bite his notoriously kiddy-sized burger before sipping his vanilla milkshake.

Suddenly, the sleeping girl began to wake up and speak slowly even though she hasn't yet raised her head, "S-"

"S-" Kamijou wondered aloud as he scoots closer to the girl in shrine clothes, "Eh? Are you sick or something?"

The woman then began to sputter, "Spent all my money on food…" At her monotonous reply, every one of them simply stared at the girl as she continued to lie down in her sleeping position. Suddenly, the four boys (Kuroko simply got dragged here already, not like he can do anything) then decided to choose who will be the one to talk to the girl by playing a familiar hand game. " _Saisho wa gu, jan-ken-pon_! _Jan-ken-pon!_ " The boy with spiky hair ended up losing the fight as Kuroko blinks, seemingly amazed that he actually won a pretty simply game. _I used to lose a lot on these one against Midorima-kun when we were in middle school._

Kamijou, seemingly having no choice, then decided to ask the girl, " _Anou…_ you said that you spent all your money on food or something?"

"The ¥100 hamburger…" The woman began to speak more clearly, "I had lots of coupons for them so I went ahead and ordered thirty of them…" Kuroko was reminded of Kagami's huge appetite for burgers and his black-a-hole stomach, which continues to amaze him to this day how he can hold up such large amount.

"You got too much of a deal there, dumb girl," Kamijou carelessly replied, earning a silent treatment from the lady, "Ah, no! It's not like that! I…uhm…"

"Frustration meal," the girl continued, "Cost of train ticket to home, ¥600. Total assets, ¥500."

"Hnnn…" Kamijou scratched his head as he then thought of something, "Can't you borrow the train fee from someone?" Suddenly, the girl, as if hearing something amazing, finally stood up from his sleeping position and looked at the boy whom she was conversing with, "That is a great proposal!" While Tsuchimikado and Aogami kept taking photos of her, the girl, who looks like a typical Japanese teenager, just kept staring at Kamijjou, who is beginning to get unnerved, "Wh—why are you staring at me? Hey, don't look at me as if you're expecting something from me!"

"¥100, too much?" the girl tilted her head, as if trying to get something out of the boy.

"It is," the spiky haired boy defended his stance, "I will not lend something I will not lend."

The girl seemed to be frustrated at his stubbornness as she turns her glance away and frowned while whispering, "Tsk…can't even let me borrow a mere ¥100."

"Who's the idiot that doesn't even have ¥100?" Kamijou, not liking that got just got tagged as a selfish guy, roared.

" _Anou…_ here, I have an extra ¥100 in my wallet…"

The _miko_ girl suddenly heard another voice speak to her. She swore she can see only four people in front of her; Kamijou was there still speaking like an idiot, the blondie and the bluenette still busy taking photos of her and Index was too busy slurping all her shakes. _But then, who is that…_

"Excuse me but here I am…"

Finally looking up, the girl then saw Kuroko, who was still waving a bill on his hands as he tries to catch her attention, He partially succeeded as the girl finally noticed his mop of light, blue hair and his pale face. "Eeeeeeehk!" the girl screamed in the face of the Phantom Sixth Man, "Since when did you get here?" Her eyes widens out as she scrutinizes at Kuroko, who was merely unfazed since he was sued to this kind of treatment.

"I was here with them since the beginning," Kuroko explained softly, "Since I have an extra bill, you can take this so you can go home." He then places the money in front of the _miko_ , who was very touched at the gesture and takes the money as she said, "Thank you. What's your name?"

"Kuroko Tetsuya. And yours?"

"Himegami Aisa."

 _Wow! You're a woman killer!_ The three boys who are with him said in both awe. Suddenly, before they can even react, Himegami already stood up and even before Kuroko was able to speak further, he moved out of her table as to their surprise, a group of men wearing formal attire was actually waiting for her in the end of the stairs. She leaves with them without saying good bye to Kuroko and company.

 _Who are they? Does she even know them?_ Kamijou wondered as he watches them go down.

Unfortunately for him, his question would be answered just a few hours from now.

* * *

 ** _Sneak peak for the next chapter!_**

 **Kuroko Tetsuya finally manages to get some help form his cousin. But things are just bound to get more awry. After meeting Himegami Aisa at the restaurant, Kuroko was asked by his dorm mate to look out for Index in the evening as Kamijou claimed he would be out for some serious business.**

 **Unfortunately for the tealnette, Index got away while he was busy talking with Kagami and the rest of the Seirin basketball team in his phone. The moment he realizes the nun is gone, Kuroko then set out to personally find her, leading him to a place called Misawa Cram School, where he would realize that this city is more than what meets the eye. Basically, it would be his first time plunging into the Magic World, where only a few in this city even knows about. Can his Misdirection even win against Aureolus Izzard's Ars Magna?**

 **See you in the next chapter!**


	4. First Plunge: Ars Magna Vs Misdirection

The sky was already reddish-orange in hue as Kuroko had just arrived in his student dormitory. To say that he was tried was an understatement. He was basically very exhausted from the long day that he had from practicing his basic fundamentals with his cousin to having to deal with a strange _miko_ girl from Macronall Burger chain. Moreover, he finds it odd that someone would actually dress in such a strange and ancient way in a city said to be thirty years ahead in terms of technology and lifestyle.

Not that he minded at all.

He was already yawning when he entered the elevator and went to his own floor. Once he got there, he went straight to his unit and immediately changed his clothes to a more comfortable one in shorts and plain white t-shirt. But as he was about to think about what to eat for dinner, he heard a loud knock from his door. _Who could this be?_ Kuroko thought as he then went straight to the entrance and opened it. He was surprise by the person standing in front of the entrance.

It was none other than Kamijou Touma.

" _Anou…_ good evening, Kamijou-kun," the pale tealnette greeted, "What do you need that you came here in my room?"

"Well…" the spiky haired boy seemed to be hesitating about saying what's in his mind, "I would be going out for the night and it would be nice if I need someone to look after Index while I'm gone."

"Hmmmm. Perhaps, are you asking me to look after her?" the tealnette raised his eyebrows as he was holding a can of syrup.

"Ah…yes. That's it. I'll be leaving for some unfinished business," Kamijou smiled as he then turned his back, "If you have any problems looking after her, then just call me in my phone. Well…I'll be leaving in a few minutes." He then left hurriedly as if this thing called business is a pretty important matter that required his attention.

Kuroko stood there like he was just rudely cut off before he can even say anything. Shrugging it off, he then decided to just eat his dinner at the dormitory room of the boy with spiky black hair so that he can look after Index in a more time-saving way.

After packing all of his food, consisting of simple boiled rice and fried chicken which he bought outside, he then went outside of his room and was about to take the elevator when suddenly he heard someone from the staircase talking. _No, there's two of them. And one of them is Kamijou-kun!_

Quickly, he then stepped back and decided to observe the two out of his curiosity as he listens to their conversation.

"What are you doing with those?" Touma asked.

 _I thought I would leave her with some protection. Innocentius should do it._

 _Do you have a thing for Index?_

 _What?! Of all the stupid things to ask!_

 _I see. So let's go to School District 17._

Kuroko hid in the shadowy corners just in time to see Kamijou and a strange, tall man with red hair suddenly came going down in the staircase. _Strange. He's wearing some kind of priestly robe and…he's tall. By the looks of it, he looks even taller than Kagami-kun and Midorima-kun. Oh well, whatever they do, it's not my business._ Kuroko assured himself with the last part as he then went out of hid hiding spot and took the elevator.

As he was headed for the room of Kamijou Touma, he was thinking about his first fundamental training this morning. _So far, I'm getting the gist on how the basics work._ He didn't intend to really abandon his passing style but to make himself a complete player that can stand on his own even when the likes of Kagami is benched. _So far, I have laid down the foundations of my own Personal Reality._ He was really prepared to make same sacrifices to make himself stronger, even to the point where he'll have to drastically get his appetite used to eating more.

As he enters the door, he was greeted by no one else.

"Huh? Where is Index-san?" the passing specialist wondered as he lays his packed dinner in the table. As if his questions have been answered, he suddenly heard a rush of water coming from the bathroom, indicating that the silver-haired loli in a form of a nun is busy taking a bath. _Ah, so far, so good._

Kuroko then sat down on the bed of his friend, which he didn't know was currently occupied by Index, and began nibbling his food. While he was eating, he wondered what is now happening back in Seirin as well as the rest of the Generation of Miracles. _How is Kagami-kun and the team doing? Have they thought some ways on how to become a better team?_

Suddenly, he felt his phone vibrating.

"Hmmmm. Kagami-kun must be calling," Kuroko said to himself as he then opens his flip phone and true to his suspicions, it was his red headed partner that was calling. Responding, Kuroko said in the lamest way, "Hello, Kagami-kun."

" _Kuroko, how's your training over there?" By the way, we had a practice match with that annoying Midorima here in our training camp?_ "

"I'm fine and Midorima-kun?"

" _Yeah. Coincidentally, Shutoku and our school both attended the same training camp venue so what happened is that coach and Shutoku's coach both agreed that there would be a practice match between the two teams everyday._ "

"I see. Did Midorima-kun said anything?"

" _None, whatsoever although he did inquired about where you are. Oh yeah, how about you, how is your so-called personal training going along?_ "

"So far, so good. I have been practicing my basic fundamentals with my cousin and so far, it's bearing some results. It may not come out as much as I wanted for now but when I keep training like these, I would be able to stand independently and how my Personal Reality would bring me—"

" _Personal—what?_ "

"Uh, that's some key concept that I have learned from my cousin."

Little did Kuroko realize that while he was busy speaking with the Seirin ace on phone, Index was beginning to sneak out of the room. While the tealnette was having his conversation with Kagami, Index was actually having some sort of a conversation.

With her cat she named Sphynx.

"Hey Sphynx, where did Touma go?" the nun asked the cat, which only meowed as a reply, "Something's wrong. There is no way Touma would just say "oh, well" when someone eats his pudding.

After a few minutes, she and the cat got out of the bathroom and to her utmost surprise, it was Kuroko, who was still busy talking on the phone, sitting on her—or her partner's bed and not Kamijou. _Something must be wrong!_ Index concluded as Kamijou wouldn't simply leaver her to someone else's watch. Quickly drying up and donning in her habit, she stealthily tip-toed towards the entrance and as amaze as she was in seeing that the tealnette didn't even notice her, she knew she had no time dwelling on it as she had to find the spiky haired boy first.

* * *

It was only when Kuroko noticed some wet droplets in the floor that he had realized that the person he was supposed to guard was gone.

" _Heh?_ Index-san?" the tealnette suddenly stood up, not minding Kagami's incessant questions as to who is this 'Index' he was talking about. Quickly going to the bathroom, he was a bit surprised that the bathroom is still moist but that it was already vacated some minutes ago. Deciding to check on the kitchen as he realized that the nun is some kind of a glutton, he surmised that she must be finding something to eat so he went there as well to investigate. But to hid dismay and slight alarm, she wasn't there as well.

In fact, she just disappeared from the house.

 _Anou, where is Index-san?_ Kuroko asked himself as he scans the whole area. But before he then decides on his next move, he then takes his flip phone and concludes his call.

"I'm sorry for the disruption but I need to go somewhere."

" _Oi—_ "

 _Click!_

Before Kagami can even answer, Kuroko had already ended the call as he races outside the door. But when he went outside of the dormitory room, something shocking had greeted Kuroko's eyes.

 _What are those!? Are those some cards stuck in the walls and foundations?_

The tealnette was basically stunned to see numerous objects that look like playing cards all attached in the walls. Going closer to the cards, something written on the objects has caught Kuroko on surprise. _They look like rune alphabets. Why something like this is are present in a city so advanced scientifically?_ As far as he can remember, runes are more present among pagan societies as well as ancient tribes in Europe. _How did they end up here?_

Sighing, he then goes out of the building, thinking, 'This is going to be a long night.'

* * *

"You mean, what?!"

Hyuga was close to killing Kagami in a chokehold as the latter had just reported to his captain and coach Riko that something must have happened to their passing specialist as he was calling to Kuroko. Just a while back, the team had just dropped a practice game against Midorima and Shutoku and while it does looks bad, it doesn't look bad for a team that is still missing Kuroko while Kagami has yet to play a game as he was ordered by their coach to do some running drills instead.

"What could have happened to Kuroko?" Kiyoshi asked as he sips his tea, "I'm pretty sure that he'll be just fine there in Academy City."

"Well…there's that but…" Kagami can't just shake off the feeling that something must have occurred to Kuroko, "I don't know why I feel that way but it seems like he is onto something that we don't know. His last message sounds like he was in some kind of an important mission."

"Well, you worry too much, Bakagami," Riko shrugged as she eats her last bit of a supper, "I'm pretty sure Kuroko-kun is just too busy in his own personal training regimen that he becomes a bit alert."

"Well…" Kagami decided to shake off the nervousness gripping his heart for now as he assures himself that Kuroko is safe, "I hope that was the case." He said as he was finished eating his meal and went outside of the inn that they were all staying to remove the sudden fear that came upon him and decided to play some little game.

Meanwhile, Midorima, who was busy taking a bath, was actually at lost as to where his former Teiko teammate was. _Academy City?_ He had asked Kagami about their former sixth man's whereabouts but all the power forward could say is, "I don't know where exactly but he is in Academy City right now."

He didn't know whether he should be amused or not.

 _What would he even do there?_ The green haired shooter asked himself as he was busy squeezing his lucky item, which is a rubber ducky. As far as he knows, Kuroko isn't even an Esper and besides, the city itself is a mystery even for him and Akashi, who only heard it from pamphlets (though the latter won't admit it, at least openly).

* * *

For almost an hour, Kuroko kept going in circles as he was desperately trying to tail Index, whom he somehow was able to spot some hundred meters from his current location. Seeing that the nun was actually very fast, the tealnette had to duck into some garbage bins, shadowy corners, and large trees to avoid getting caught by the nun, who looked like she was finding something as she looks like she was enchanted by some unknown force.

As Kuroko was keeping up with the movements with the nun, he also observed the surroundings encompassing their location and was somehow quite surprised.

"Wait…this is District 17…" the tealnette said to himself as he realized that Kamijou had said the same thing about District 17. An area at the very edge of Academy City, it is essentially the industrial district in the city. It is bordered to the north by School District 20, the south by School District 21, to the east by School District 9, and to the west by Western Tokyo.

Far away from any residential district, its purpose is for producing items that are needed for research within Academy City; so they don't need to rely on the usual factories that are common in the outside world. The buildings in the industrial section are windowless and are highly organized, built to work for 24 hours a day.

Furthermore, the school district is the place where agricultural buildings used for cloning of meat and growing of vegetables exist. It specializes in manufacturing industrial products in Academy City and is fully automated. The population is extremely small due to the automation compared to the other districts, and is comparatively darker than the other districts due to the lighting of only the factories that use automation. This is also the place where the Space Carrots and the Genetically Improved Lettuce are grown.

Or at least, that's what the tealnette learned in his class yesterday.

After a few minutes, Kuroko found himself in land bridge as he was already panting for air, though not as worst as his pre-Academy City self. _Thanks to Kuroko-san's training, I'm somehow managing to hold up._ Kuroko had to smile, even for a bit as he kept going.

"Index-san is going faster. I have to go faster as well." The passing specialist said to himself as he followed the familiar blur of white tunic robe that was dancing with the breeze of the wind. Sooner, he found himself facing a building that looked more like a condominium though according to the handbook that was given to him by his cousin, this is actually a school.

Unlike a regular school like the one he is currently staying in, Misawa Cram School is a _Juku_ Cram School found in the city and it is built to look more like an office building than a school. The school consists of four buildings several storeys in height, with a skyway built in the between each other connecting. The building contains elevators, a cafeteria and probably several classrooms, as well as a large office and secret rooms.

"Looks too fancy for a normal high school." Kuroko thought aloud as he and Index from afar was nearing to the location. _I wonder if Kagami-kun entered a similar fancy-looking school as well?_

Suddenly, he stopped walking as he spotted Index stopping by the large windows of the school. Forcing to hide in the trees that abound in the playground straddling in front of Misawa Cram School, Kuroko then suddenly heard Index whisper to herself from a far, though it was apparently loud enough as the whole area was a bit silent.

"Here, huh?" Index said to herself, unaware that Kuroko is watching and listening to her from afar. "Where the mana that was being supplied to the runes near Touma's room is completely cut off?" She added before suddenly going inside the building.

 _Runes? Mana?_ Kuroko though as he was quite confused by the terms. _But this is Academy City. Magic is sure not to exist here…or is it really that case?_ He didn't know why but his instincts iare telling him that it was the opposite of what he had thought. But pushing out those thoughts for now, he then went nearer to the building as he crosses the road. But as he got closer to the windows, a something had just appeared in his eye.

Or rather, someone.

Now hiding in a pillar but peeking just enough for him to see what the hell is happening in this world right now, Kuroko then saw a man, who was standing in a raised platform that can only be reached through a stair. His face is stern looking and very distinguished, which is complemented by the way he dresses, wearing a white suit over a blue dress shirt and wearing a light-pinkish tie, as well as wearing loafers, but the most striking feature is his green hair that is neatly combed. _Reminds me of Midorima-kun._ Kuroko thought. _That man…He has a serious air surrounding him…_

"Hmmm…it's been a while…"

Kuroko then heard the man with green hair began to speak.

"Who are you?" Index asked, her voice bellowing in the empty hallway.

"You don't remember me?" The man asked in a smug manner. "Naturally, you wouldn't happen to recall the name Aureolus Izzard? No, perhaps, that should be a fortunate occurrence." He then gave one last word.

"Sleep."

Suddenly, to Kuroko's horror, Index suddenly fell and in his shock, it looked like he fainted. The man in white suit began to descend down from the platform and was about to pick up Index himself when suddenly, he tilted his head upward…

Towards the direction of Kuroko's hiding place.

Luckily, Kuroko was able to notice this and he hid behind the column just in time to be able to erase his presence. It also helped that he had little presence and it proved useful today as he waits for five minutes. _Just what did I saw? Is this mana? Wait…is this magic?_ Kuroko gasped, realizing that this must be something beyond physics. He did found those runes in their apartment that he was staying in. _Could it be that magic was real…after all?_

He then peeked again.

But they were gone. Index and the man had just disappeared.

Feeling that he had to properly plan out his next move, Kuroko decided to return to the bushes, thinking that he must go and call out Kamijou for help. But when he was about to pull out his phone, he hear some voices near him so he hid lower in the bushes. When the source of the voice emerged, the tealnette didn't know whether he must be amused or not.

 _Ka-Kamijou-kun?!_ Kuroko mentally screamed. _And that man with priestly robes. What are they doing here?_

It looks like the two people were in a hurry as they were dashing towards another location of the building. Feeling that this will answer some of his questions, Kuroko stealthily followed the two of them as he had a feeling that he'll be involved, sooner or later. _Better go with the soonest path, then._ The tealnette thought as the three made a mad dash towards the gates. But when they did got there, with Kuroko hiding in the bushes, there were someone who greeted their arrival.

Slightly far away, Kuroko could see a few people around. However, it was impossible to tell if they were male or females, as they were completely covered skin-tight silver armor.

There was no one around, which made that even more suspicious looking. From that angle, he could see three people in iron armor. If they were surrounding the four buildings of Misawa Cram School, there should also be a few of their comrades.

 _What? Who are these strange guys? They look like medieval knights._

"Hey, those look like the corpse form earlier…" Kuroko heard Kamijou said aloud.

"They're the surviving thirteen knights of the Roman Catholic Church," Now, this was the first time the Seirin passing specialist heard the man in priestly robes talk.

Suddenly, the knights all raised their swords skywards, as per the command given by the one in the center of the group. A bright, red light shone at the tip of each of their blades.

"A Gregorian Choir," Stiyl noted, "A real Gregorian Choir, not like the alchemist's replica."

"But didn't you say a lot of people were required to this Gregorian or whatever this thing is." Kamijou inquired more.

"You're right." The priest replied. "This holy spell that gathers 3,333 monks at the greatest holy place in the world, the Vatican Church, can accurately turn anything in the world to dust. Besides, if we leave the tower of this heretic, it'll be harmful to our pride."

"Revelation 8:7—"

Suddenly, the knight, who looks to be the leader, began to command.

""When the first angel sounded his trumpet, there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down onto the earth!"

Perhaps due to the effects of magic, a horn could be heard from the glowing sword like a beast howling, echoing throughout the night.

Immediately, all the voices vanished.

All the clouds that were floating in the night sky were scattered away. From far away, it looked like lightening. A huge pillar of light that descended from the sky. However, that pillar of light was red. It looked like thousands of fire arrows mixed together to form a huge spear as it struck one of the four buildings of Misawa Cram School.

The crimson pillar pierced the roof to the basement.

"What the hell they are trying to do?!" The boy with jet black hair asked.

"Holy Magic Bombardment." The priest answered.

"Bombardment?! "What nonsense are you spouting!? There are countless innocent students inside! And Stiyl and Himegami are still inside! Even Aureolus…"

Suddenly, the tower was crushed to half of its original height like a squashed aluminum can. Theglass shattered and interior decorations flew about in chaos. It wasn't over. Though one of the four buildings had been hit directly, the neighboring two buildings were also affected, pulled down by the overhead bridges, leaving the remaining unaffected building there like a tombstone.

Such an act of madness left Kuroko, still hiding in the bushes, dumbstruck. A mixture of awe and fear had struck his heart as he watches the building break.

The building got twisted, cracks appeared on the walls, and people were falling through the gaps like dust patted off pants. A large number of rubble utterly devastated the surroundings like a meteor shower. The only silver lining was that there was no one else around.

The storm of dust prevented the two (and Kuroko) from moving forward. They couldn't see anything in front, he couldn't open his eyes. Even so, Kamijou continued to try and run forward. He just hoped that all that was just a joke.

But at that moment, something changed.

 _What?_

At first, what Kamijou and Kuroko felt was that all the dust that was blocking his sight was scattering. The large amount of dust flew forward like it got hit by a strong wind—to what was supposed to be the wreckage of Misawa Cram School.

No, not just dust.

Even the rubble that flew everything was floating in midair, and the crumbled walls flipped back up. The pieces started to come together like a jigsaw puzzle, looking completely smooth like it got renovated. _It was rising again?_ Kuroko didn't know if he was already getting crazy or what.

It was like a rewind of a show. The collapsed towers were standing back up, and the people who fell were re-absorbed back through the cracks. Most of the damage to the buildings were repaired, and soon, all the four buildings of Misawa Cram School looked like nothing had happened as they remained there. Even the neighboring buildings that had been hit by rubble reverted back to what they were before, making one wonder if his memory had gotten manipulated.

"Ars Magna…"

Kuroko heard the priest talking again.

"Ars Magna?"

"That is our enemy." The priest continued talking. "That is our real enemy…Aureolus Izzard's true power. "

But as things revert back to normal another sound was heard.

"Nya…nyaah…"

"Sphynx?!" Kamijou was obviously surprised. "Wait…don't tell me…this is Index's…"

In a matter of seconds, the two then dashed forward the building, hoping to save the girl. Kuroko wished to go in as well but something else is holding him back.

Facing such a terrifying enemy with the power to distort reality, how was he supposed to help and possibly even fight the guy named Aureolus Izzard? Kuroko stood around blankly, his mind in a blank state.

Kuroko decided to cool down for a moment before planning his next move. He then fishes out his phone and dialled a familiar number. After a few rings in the other line, he heard the familiar rude voice of Kagami, who seemed to be still annoyed by how Kuroko cut him off just a few minutes ago in the student dormitory.

" _Oi, Kuroko, teme! How dare you_ —"

"Kagami-kun, I'm sorry if I cut you off a while back." Kuroko sincerely apologized before going straight to the point. "I need your help. Please search these terms for me…"

" _What…_ "

"Kagami-kun, listen carefully. I don't have time now…" There was an edge in Kuroko's voice as this caught the surprise of Kagami, who seemed to be surprised to hear his partner talk like this. After a few minutes, he then receives a reply. " _Okay, Kuroko. Just speak slowly so I'll list them down. Is it okay if I ask help from coach?_ "

"Sure, Kagami-kun. Okay, here are the words. Rune alphabets…mana…Thirteen Knights of the Roman Catholic Church…Ars Magna…Gregorian Chant…"

" _Uhm…Kuroko…did I hear just right?_ "

"Yes, Kagami-kun, you just heard right. Now, search them, please. I don't have much time now." As Kuroko waits for his light's answer, he gripped the basketball that he unconsciously brought with him.

* * *

Meanwhile, everyone in the Seirin High School team was waiting anxiously as Kagami began to listen to his phone seriously. Just a minute ago, the rest of the team had just finished their third game with Shutoku High School and predictably, they lost another close game due to Kagami not again playing but as everyone is now winding down, Hyuga suddenly heard Kagami's phone ring.

"Oi, Bakagami…your phone is ringing." The clutch captain called out to their ace, who was sitting on the floor while stretching. But as Kagami answeres it, everyone suddenly froze when they heard a familiar voice in the other line.

" _Hello, Kagai-kun…_ "

"Oi, Kuroko, teme! How dare you—" Kagamiw as about to cuss out aloud but he was cut off by his friend on the other line.

" _Kagami-kun, I'm sorry if I cut you off a while back. I need your help. Please search these terms for me…_ "

"What…" Kagami wasn't sure of he understood. By this time, their coach Riko and the rest of the team began to gather around the red-headed power forward as the latter was listening seriously to Kuroko.

" _Kagami-kun, listen carefully. I don't have time now…_ " There seemed to be an edge in Kuroko's voice, which surprised Hyuga and Kiyoshi. "Kagami-kun, just follow what Kuroko-kun is saying." Riko ordered the Seirin ace. "And put it in speaker mode so that we can hear what he has to say."

Following what the coach ordered, Kagami then turned on the speaker mode and then said. "Okay, Kuroko. Just speak slowly so I'll list them down. Is it okay if I ask help from coach?" He glances at Riko and Hyuga.

" _Fine, Kagami-kun._ " Kuroko replied then began to speak slowly. " _Okay, here are the words. Rune alphabets…mana…Thirteen Knights of the Roman Catholic Church…Ars Magna…Gregorian Chant…_ "

"Eh?" Now, Koganei spoke in confusion as he heard those words. "Those terms seems a bit…archaic…"

"Uhm…Kuroko…did I just hear right?" Understandably, Kagami was left bewildered at what he ehard as he didn't know why Kuroko is asking him to search him the terms.

" _Yes, Kagami-kun, you just heard right. Now, search them, please. I don't have much time now._ " Yes, Kuroko seemed to be at edge right now.

Luckily, Riko was able to list down the words she heard in her phone, knowing the one talking to their passing specialist is a bit unreliable as of the moment. The other also began to help out by picking one term and searching on their own phones, which had access to the Internet. After a few minutes, Riko came forward and pushed it into Kagami's face. Despite the seemingly rude move, Kagami ignored it and began to read the letters.

"Rune alphabets are the letters or simply runes are alphabets, which were used to write various Germanic languages before the adoption of the Latin alphabet and for specialised purposes thereafter." Kagami began to speak. "Historically, the runic alphabet is a derivation of the Old Italic scripts of antiquity, with the addition of some innovations. Which variant of the Old Italic family in particular gave rise to the runes is uncertain. Suggestions include Raetic, Venetic, Etruscan, or Old Latin as candidates. At the time, all of these scripts had the same angular letter shapes suited for epigraphy, which would become characteristic of the runes."

There was a long pause before Kuroko's voice is heard.

" _Next?_ "

Quickly, Kiyoshi came forward and gave what he searched. "Mana, in Austronesian languages, means "power", "effectiveness", and "prestige". In most cases, this power and its source are understood to be supernatural and inexplicable." Kagami read what he saw. "In short, it is a form of energy that is present in many forms of life known in the Tabula Rasa exoverse, and is also often known as life energy or ki. It is particularly characterized by the tendency to replicate itself and grow after incorporating other forms of energy. As an individual grows larger and stronger, so does the amount of mana energy it has. A portion of mana energy is passed onto the offspring from the mother in every instance of reproduction, although there have been rare cases where an individual has been born without any mana energy. Exceptionally strong individuals often possess significant amounts of mana energy."

Koganei then came forward with his own search. "The Thirteen Knights of the Roman Catholic Church is a group of warriors created by and serve under the Roman Catholic Church. They are known to be patterned after the Knights of the Round Table of the Arthurian Legend…"

 _What the hell does this have to do with his basketball training?!_ Hyuga didn't know what to feel as he was listening to every answer that they are feeding to their Phantom player.

"Ars Magna is a Latin term for "Great Art." Kagami then read Izuki's search. "It's mostly found in alchemy, an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition practiced throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia, originating in Greco-Roman Egypt (primarily Alexandria) in the first few centuries AD. It aims to purify, mature, and perfect certain objects. Common aims were chrysopoeia, the transmutation of "base metals" (e.g., lead) into "noble metals" (particularly gold); the creation of an elixir of immortality; the creation of panaceas able to cure any disease; and the development of an alkahest, a universal solvent. The perfection of the human body and soul was thought to permit or result from the alchemical magnum opus and, in the Hellenistic and Western mystery tradition, the achievement of gnosis. In Europe, the creation of a philosopher's stone was variously connected with all of these projects…dammit, this one's the longest one…Kuroko…oi, Kuroko?! What's with you?! What are you doing right now?"

" _Just keep answering, Kagami-kun. I'm in some sort of business now so this is why I am running._ " Kuroko replied from the other line. Before Kagami can retort back, Mitobe silently pushed his phone forward so Kagami can finish right now.

The red head grudgingly read it. "The Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe during the 9th and 10th centuries, with later additions and redactions. Although popular legend credits Pope Gregory I with inventing Gregorian chant, scholars believe that it arose from a later Carolingian synthesis of Roman chant and Gallican chant." Kagami began to get irritated as he went on. "The Gregorian chants were organized initially into four, then eight, and finally 12 modes. Typical melodic features include a characteristic ambitus, and also characteristic intervallic patterns relative to a referential mode final, incipits and cadences, the use of reciting tones at a particular distance from the final, around which the other notes of the melody revolve, and a vocabulary of musical motifs woven together through a process called centonization to create families of related chants. The scale patterns are organized against a background pattern formed of conjunct and disjunct tetrachords, producing a larger pitch system called the gamut. The chants can be sung by using six-note patterns called hexachords. Gregorian melodies are traditionally written using neumes, an early form of musical notation from which the modern four-line and five-line staff developed. Multi-voice elaborations of Gregorian chant, known as organum, were an early stage in the development of Western polyphony."

There was a pause in the other line, save for what sounds like loud footsteps, indicating that the boy is on the run—physically.

" _Thank you, Kagami-kun._ " Kuroko replied as he kept running.

"Oi, what is happening to you?! Where the hell are you?!" Kagami roared.

All he got as a response is a long, ringing sound.

* * *

 _I'm sorry Kagami-kun but I have to go on my own way, for now. I got to help Index-sand and Kamijou-kun._

As the stakes got higher after learning that Kamijou and the guy in priestly robes got into the building first, Kuroko then decided to creep in as well as he didn't want to stay in his hiding place much lomger. Bringing his leather basketball and a rusty iron pipe he found in the sidewalks some minutes ago, he then pushes the revolving doors as he goes inside.

But more importantly, he was convinced of one thing.

 _Magic is real._

He might not have heard of it yet but what he witnessed is proof that something outside of this world is existing.

He began to navigate around the very large school building. It didn't help that he wasn't even familiar to this place but thanks to the opened but dim lights, the dusty foot prints, and the sounds of voices that seemed to be coming from the top floor, he was able to find his way around the place. Though he wasn't sure what floor it is, Kuroko then gambled by taking the elevator and estimating the frequency of the sounds through their pitch alone. If he felt that it was louder, then he'll simply have to close in.

It didn't take him that long before stumbling upon a door that was swung open. But before Kuroko can even step a bit further, familiar voices which were visibly coming from the room of the door were heard, quickly causing him to stop and knelt down as he tried to listen.

"I have some bad news for you, alchemist," Styil said calmly, "Your plan will never succeed."

Aureolus turned around to face the two infiltrators, a confident smirk on his face.

"Oh, so you finally realized what my intentions here are, albeit a bit late." he replied, "In that case, I expect that you howl at your own impedance when achieve what I mean to do."

"I would have done the same thing with Index a year back." The priestly man replied, now getting serious. "But I repeat, you won't be able to save Index, right now."

 _Save Index-san?_ Kuroko repeated in his mind as he grips the iron pipe in his hands. Something tells him this is going to get ugly in a matter of seconds.

""You simply failed at saving her. But I will save this girl." The alchemist declared, pausing a moment to spare Index a caring glance. "I will save her. My Index. She shouldered the weight of all the 103,000 grimoires upon her fragile shoulders. She could never hope to escape the spell that was cast upon her, but she has stayed strong. She accepts the fate decreed by the church, hoping her curse will be a blessing for others."

 _By how he sounds it, this Aureolus Izzard guy knew Index-san. I don't know what is happening right now. Is this magic?_ Kuroko mentally groaned.

"He was one of Index's partners in the past." Stiyl explained, figuring everyone else, including Kuroko whome they haven't detected yet, was out of the loop. "This year, you have that honor. Last year it was me. And three years ago, it was this man, Aureolus Izzard."

"To this day, Index needs to have her memories erase or else she will die…"

Those words alone proved to be quite a shocker as Kuroko almost dropped his pipe. _Memories? Erased? Index-san?_ The tealnette didn't know what to feel whether he should get mad or feel a bit sad.

"Without that process, she will die. An unescapable fate, on her human body cannot fight. However…"

"If her body was not human, things might be different," Stiyl finished lamely.

"Vampires are those that possess immortal life. They possess the ability to save an infinite amount of memories in the same brain as humans. Thay have it…those vampires!" Aureolus' voice turns creepy. "They have a method of not losing their self no matter how many memories they take in."

"I see…" The priest's voice was heard. "So you want the vampires to tell you that method. But let me ask you one thing: what if it doesn't work on humans?"

"Then I'll move Index's away from a human body." Aureolus replied arrogantly.

"In other words, he wants to turn her into a vampire."

Kuroko was tempting to charge into their little meeting as well but he had to control himself. _Now's not the time._

"It doesn't change that fact that Index would be saved!" Aureolus angrily said. "You should understand that! You, who have seen her ending annually! At that time, she told me…she told me she didn't want to forget and that she didn't want to die and go against her teachings. She told me all of this while she was smiling!"

However, it was at that point that the priest decided to break the news to the misguided alchemist.

"I see. Then nothing I've said so far has changed your mind…" The priest said in exasperation as he stepped to the side of the room.

"Well, in that case, would you care to do the honors as her current partner?" The tall priest asked, glancing at Kamijou, "Why don't you tell this misinformed hack about the recent change in Index? You're the current one."

The boy with spiky hair stared at the alchemist before him speaking.

"Alchemist, you have no idea what you're talking about," Touma said firmly.

"What's that?" Aureolus asked in confusion.

 _Uhm, what?_ Kuroko was confused as well.

"Don't you see yet?" Stiyl interrupted, "You can't do anything because Index's has already been saved. Not by you but by this Kamijou Touma. He's already accomplished what neither of us were able to do. But course, you couldn't have known that. You turned your back on the church and spent three years in hiding. You've pretty much been living under a rock when the important stuff happened."

"I-Impossible…" Aureolus muttered in disbelief. "He's…a normal human. Not even a magician nor an alchemist. What can this little fry even do?!"

"This guy's right hand is called the Imagine Breaker…" The pirest said and this is the part which Kuroko got hooked into.

As the pirest explained how Kamijou's power work, Kuroko was amazed as he heard about his new friend's right hand. _Imagine…Breaker? The power to cancel out any supernatural ability? Can that be even possible?_

The mood around him as well as the tone of the priest say that it was. Suddenly, he again heard another additional voice.

"Touma," Index cried in her sleep, "Touma."

 _Index-san!_

"I'm here, Index!" Kamijou yelled in response.

"Touma," Index said once again.

Suddenly, her stomach released a loud rumbling sound.

"I'm really hungry," Index followed up, rolling on her side in her sleep, "An apple. A juicy, red apple…from Aomori…"

AT that moment, the atmosphere got a bit awkward at the peculiae sight.

"That's a good one…" Stiyl said through his snicker.

At that point, Kamijou couldn't help but laugh as well. And now, Even Kuroko, who heard it as well, almost dropped his basketball as he was shaking from the funny words he had heard.

Suddenly, Aureolus began to laugh as well.

Albeit, in a maniacal way.

Everyone stopped in their tracks as they watch the alchemist laugh and laugh.

"On the ground, intruders!"

All of the sudden, Kuroko heard a large thump in the floor as it vibrated in the ground. _Shit…this must be it…_

"You come in here and trample my emotions! You have jeered at my hardships!" The alchemist thundered. "Very well, you will pay for this humiliation! You will pay with your pathetic lives!"

"Stop now!" A familiar voice yelled.

 _Himegami-san?!_ Kuroko, now his eyes are bulging as he realized there was more to this.

"Himegami, careful." Kamijou warned as he struggled to get up.

As on-going battle began to emerge, suddenly, Kuroko's phone vibrated. Answering it, he ehard the voice of Kagami suddenly roaring in anger.

" _Oi, Kuroko teme. You sure have some guts not answering us back! What the hell is with you today? What's with—_ "

"Kagami-kun, I don't have any time for this!" Kuroko's accent is tersely as he tries to lower down his voice. "And please calm down your voice! I'm in an important business today!"

" _Teme…what the hell are you…_ "

Suddenly, at the astonishment of Kuroko, an explosion suddenly occurred right in front of him.

" _Ku-Kuroko! What the hell is that explosion we heard here?!_ " Kahami can't help but feel frightened for his partner.

"It doesn't matter!" Kuroko replied, now taking the ball and the iron in his hands. "I'm charging in right now!"

" _Kuroko—_ "

Kuroko threw his phone in the sides and went to the door. He was greeted by the sight of Kamijou lying on the ground, Aureolus holding what looks like to be a ten-barrelled pistol, Himegami lying beside Kamijou, and…

The priest now floating in the air.

 _And his skin ripped to pieces._

Kuroko almost vomited at the disgusting sight of his heart continuing to beat and he was by all indications alive, his muscles, bones, blood vessels, and other organs close to the surface were exposed but he had to keep going. Luckily for him, his lack of presence is helpful in this scenario and seeing and analysing the situation before him as fast as he could, he had only one thing on his mind.

He dribbled the ball so hard that it reached the ceiling.

"What?! Who's there?!" Aureolus shouted angrily, not that he was able to see because of Kuroko's misdirection and the fact that Kamijou is blocking his way.

"It's me!" Kurok had to declare his presence.

As the ball descends down, Kuroko then punches it. "Ignite pass!" He shouted as the sent the Molten Basketball flying into the face of the unsuspecting Aureolus, who was shocked at the sudden appearance of Kuroko.

And before he can even move, the alchemist was hit hard in the face that it sent him crashing down on the floor.

"Ku-Kuroko?! What the hell are you doing here?! Get away from here!" Kamijou shouted in horror and surprise as he tries to warn the tealnette about the supposed dangers lying in front of him.

His plead fell to deaf ears as Kuroko charges in, readily swinging his iron pipe.

Before Aureolus can quickly regain consciousness and his posture, Kuroko came up and quickly struck him in the face with the iron pipe. The alchemist can only cry in pain as the tealnette began to beat him up with all his might. It was an amazing feat for the tealnette, considering the difference in their heights. _Aureolus Izzard-kun looks even taller than Midorima-kun and Kiyoshi-senpai. I have to beat him up while I'm still at luck._

His luck, though lone, didn't last long.

"Another violent boy, huh?" Aureolus muttered then thundered. "Be kicked by the force of the stallion's hooves!"

All of the sudden, before Kuroko can swung his iron pipe more, he suddenly felt something supernatural hit him as he got thrown back violently back into where Kamijou is lying. "Ittai…it feels like I got kicked by a horse…" Kuroko whispered as he held into his left arm, which bore the brunt of Aureolus' Ars Magna.

"Kuroko?! Are you alright?!" Kamijou was about to help but was stopped by the voice of a laughing Aureolus, who is now standing in front of them. His face was bruised black and blue from the beating he received from Kuroko's iron pipe.

"You two seemed to be the most troubling. Enough of this. I believe I'll switch weapons," The alchemist declared as he points at Kamijou. "I'll get rid of you first. I'll destroy you with a sword instead. Obviously, the source of your self-assurance is your right hand which is your only weapon. It's clear my first course of action is to chop off your right arm. For this last attack, my spinning sword will sever your arm!"

The ten pistols Aureolus was using transformed into a single pistol with a sword attached to the barrel. Taking aim, the sword flew off the barrel of the pistol on command, spinning as it cut through the air. In the blink of an eye, the spinning blade cut straight through Kamijou's right shoulder, severing his arm and spewing blood everywhere. The blood splashed onto Kuroko's white shirt.

"Kamijou-kun!" Kuroko cried as he tried to get up and help his spiky haired friend by trying to engage the man in combat once more despite knowing how dangerous it seems. But it was no use. His left arm is still hurting.

"Hm…Ha…HA HA HA HA!" Aureolus began to laugh maniacally as he was very satisfied with how he cut off his oppoent's right hand. He then turned his sights towards Kuroko, who was till trying to stand up. The tealnette would have been in the mercy of the alchemist if it wasn't for another laughing voice that was heard in the room.

The one laughing was Touma Kamijou.

"What?" Kuroko and Aureolus both asked in stunning manner.

In desperation, Aureolus attempted to cut Kamijou's head off with the same sword pistol he used the chop off his arm. However, the blade somehow curved and missed the boy completely. When the attack failed, he tried again, this time with the same ten pistol combination as before. Once again, the blades curved around Kamijou, not even scratching him. In a final attempt to end the boy, the alchemist ordered the creation of infinite executioner's blades to dismember Kamijou's body. The blades all appeared suspended in the air above Kamijou before suddenly falling upon him. However, the blades never hit their mark as they were instantly destroyed, the oddest part being that the sound of Imagine Breaker rang out as they did.

"A-Amazing…" Kuroko had a newfound respect, awe, and fear for what he was seeing right now.

"Hey, alchemist." Kamijou said that was not him at all. "Honestly, did you think you were going to win? Did you really you can get rid of Imagine Breaker with an attack as pathetic as that one?"

In his desperate attempts to defend himself, Aureolus dropped his supply of needles and struggled to recollect all of them. During this time, Kamijou only got closer to his predator-turned-prey.

"You can't work your alchemy without using those needles, can you?" Kamijou deduced. "You rely on them to keep any stray thoughts out from interfering. Is something wrong? Come on, use your words! Why aren't you fighting? Can't you control me?"

With that one step, Touma's shoulder stub was visible for everyone present to see. To the Kuroko's surprise and horror, in place of Kamijou's right arm was a giant dragon head. The head was large enough to equal the boy's standing height when its jaw was open and seemed to be made out of an eerie purple light. Its physical form was only barely visible on its own, only becoming clearer thanks to the splatters of Kamijou's blood smeared across it.

The dragon's head let out a might roar that physically shook the room the battle was in, shocking everyone conscious to see it, both in and outside of the room. To Kuroko's shock of his life, the dragon's head lunged at Aureolus, swallowing him whole as he screamed for his life. As soon as the dragon's head's powerful jaws clamped down, the resulting shockwave knocked down Kuroko once more in the floor, though not as hard as he experienced with Ars Magna.

The tealnette could hardly believe what he had just witnessed. They had no words to describe what they were feeling. Words like 'fear', 'shock', 'terror' and the like were not enough to describe what they felt. To use those words alone would not do the emotions he was feeling justice. _More scarier than Akashi-kun's eyes…more powerful than Aomine-kun himself…more discerning than Midorima-kun's lucky items…_

For the first time since learning, about Imagine Breaker some minutes ago, Kuroko was utterly confused by the power in Kamijou's right hand.

"What was that?" Kuroko whispered.

Outside of the room, a faint voice from a phone can be heard.

" _Kuroko! Oi, Kuroko!_ "

* * *

The next day, Kuroko and surprisingly, the priest who was with Kamijou last night was already in the hospital room with the patient, the spiky haired boy, lying comfortably. Kamijou sat upright in his inclined hospital bed, his newly reattached right arm in a sling.

Miraculously, that one injury was the only one he had.

While Kaijou was quiet, the priest kept peeling the apple in his hands. Kuroko was also quiet as he didn't know what to say at this point. After being able to recover, Kuroko and the red headed priest with a barcode tattoo in his face help bring the boy to the hospital of the famous Heaven Canceller. As they were all in peace right now, the tealnette tried to piece all what he had learned last night. _Imagine Breaker…Ars Magna…Magic…Sorcerer…_

"Hey, what's your name?"

Kuroko turned to see that the priest was actually asking for his name. "My name's Kuroko Tetsuya. And you're?"

"Stiyl Magnus." The priest huffed as he continued cutting the apples. "Sorcerer and magician for the Necessarius, a branch of the English Puritan Church. Let me tell you one thing, though. You're lucky enough that you're neither a magician nor an esper. If you and Kamijou Touma just happened to be affiliated with either one of them, then I supposed you being involved could be the worst thing that could happen to us sorcerers and to General Superintendent, Aleister Crowley…"

"I…I see…" Kuroko muttered as he then asks. "What happened to Aureolus-san?"

"Well, he seems to have lost his memories and magical abilities," Stiyl explained, "I didn't want his death on my consciences, so I gave him a new identity and snuck him past the Knights of the Roman Catholic Church."

"Is that so?" Kuroko mused, "Good for him, I guess."

"Word is Misawa Prep School is being shut down." Stiyl added. "I was going to thank all of you, but it seems a bit stupid now that I think about it. All you two really did was get Aureolus to bring the school down on himself. In case of you, Kuroko, you actually help in stalling him for a few minutes, just enough time for Kamijou Touma to recover enough and fight back."

"If anything, you should be thanking me for my acting talent." Kamijou boasted.

"The pain must have been intense enough to put you in a state of shock," Stiyl deduced, "Thanks to that, you just able to do what needed to be done, kind of like Aureolus and his needles."

"Do not compare me to him!" Kamijou said sternly, "How crazy can one guy be? He goes out of his way to obtain some crazy magic and create a master scheme involving vampires, all because he wanted to save Index."

As the two continued to bicker, Kuroko simply watched them and gave off a small smile.

"Just so you know Kuroko." Stiyl then spoke. "This might not be the last time something similar to this would happen. If you want to be involved, then I don't stop you. But I recommend that you don't get involved at all…"

At this point, Index could be heard running down the halls of the hospital. In response, Stiyl left his freshly cut plate of apples in Touma's lap and jumped out the window. He would prefer to not meet Index directly for the time being, the reason still vaguely unknown to Kuroko.

Not that he minds though.

"Touma!" Index yelled sternly as she entered the room and climbed on his lap, "I know what you were up too!"

"Index-san, please don't do that. Kamijou-kun is still hurt." Kuroko tries to pull away Index away from the hospital bed.

"That's right. I know you risked your life in a fight to save Aisa and all of you were involved," Index replied. "Even Tetsuya is involved this time!" She grumbled, invoking Kuroko's given name.

"Aisa?" Touma asked, "Oh, you mean that wave-emitting fake magician girl? Wait, who did you hear that from?" Index didn't answer him immediately as she instead noticed the plate of apples in Kamijou's hands and she took it before beginning to chew.

"That's obvious…" Was Index's lone reply.

"That was rude." The voice of Himegami suddenly appeared. "I'm no freak."

"Kamijou-kun, try to be more gentle with ladies." Kuroko reminded him.

"Oh, hey Himegami." Kamijou greeted awkwardly. "I didn't expect to see you here with Index."

"It's not like I wanted her to come." Index clarified. "But she wouldn't stop going on about how she was desperate to thank you."

"Why did you do it?" Himegami asked, "Why did you and Kuroko-kun help me? You could have died for some stranger. I'm just some girl you and Kuroko-kun met at a fast food restaurant."

"I don't see why I need a reason to help somebody." Kamijou replied nonchalantly.

"Exactly my thoughts." Kuroko replied as well.

"Hey, Touma." Index interrupted. "After a lot of discussion, it looks like the church has decided to take in Aisa."

"The church? The actually church or your crazy Walking Church?" Kamijou asked with skepticism. "I can never tell with you."

Suddenly, Sphynx, the calico cat, suddenly went out of Index's habit and scratched Kamijou's face. As the ensuing chaos continued, Kuroko simply smiled at the scene and as he held his phone, which was full of incoming messages ranging from Hyuga lashing out curses, Riko swearing to kill him, and Kagami blurting out expletives for not telling anything, one thing suddenly is on his mind.

"For some reason, this might not be the last time I would be involved in the Magic World."

* * *

 _ **Sneak peak for the next chapter!**_

 **Kuroko Tetsuya and Shirai Kuroko continues their straining physical training and enhancement to help the tealnette attain what he was looking for. Slowly but surely, day per day, Kuroko began to experience some drastic changes in his physical prowess, such as now being able to perform the basics in basketball, especially with a new arsenal in his quick three pointers and can run almost on the level of the Generation of Miracles.**

 **But other than that, it seems that he would be once again be sucked into the dark matters of Academy City. As Kuroko and Kamijou wanders around, the former managed to meet one of the latter's fear—a chestnut-haired middle school girls who happens to be the Level 3 Esper of Academy City. As he quickly meets with Misaka Mikoto, he also unknowingly got plunged into Academy City's secret experiments.**

 **One that would involve bloodshed, the murder of clones, and…**

 **The attempt to create a Level 6?**

 **See you in the next chapter!**


	5. Prelude: Misaka Mikoto

Stiyl Magnus walked through the dark, central room of the Windowless Building in the center of Academy City. After bringing a certain spiky haired boy in a hospital with the help of a certain tealnette, he was about to go and return to England when suddenly, his phone indicates that he would be forced to stay here in Academy City longer than he expected.

The only sources of light in the room which the Fire Mage is entering were the faint, yellow glow of the circuits on ground and the tube they fed into. Inside said tube was something that could only be described as a human, but a peculiar one at that. The person floated inside the tube, upside down and wore a hospital gown.

"Stiyl Magnus." The person inside the glass tube greeted. "You are no different from the others. Every person that comes here has the same reaction to my rather unusual appearance. But it makes sense to me. If machines can sustain my life, why make my body do it?"

"I believe you said the same thing to me when I first came here about Deep Blood." Stiyl replied, now irritated. "General Superintendent Aleister."

"I believe you are already aware of the reason I have summoned you here before you can come back to England." the person identified as Aleister deadpanned. "A situation developed and to be honest, I didn't expect it in the first place…."

"If you mean Deep Blood, I know…" Stiyl tried to confirm it but the man in the glass tube cut him off.

"Deep Blood has been pretty much resolved thanks to the efforts of the Level 0 helped in bringing down the rogue magician." the Director General of Academy City continued, "If anything, I wanted you to know about the status of the boy who accompanied the Imagine Breaker in defeating the alchemist..."

"You mean Kuroko Tetsuya?" Stiyl asked in confusion. "If anything, it's his responsibility that he suddenly barged in…"

"Crushing a sorcerer by the means of science is a dangerous path, as you knew already." Aleister clarified, "Of course, I would prefer to avoid such a conflict. Pitting members of the scientific and magic communities against each other is a dangerous game, as you know. Fortunately, the appearance of this boy from outside has been a blessing to you and to the Imagine Breaker."

The first sentence was a fact Stiyl knew all too well. The two sides currently had an uneasy truce in place and that could easily crumble if a representative actively attacked the opposing side. Should one side have a clear win over the other, the whole world would be thrown off balance into chaos as the two sides fall into conflict and drag the rest of the world into it. It would not end well for anyone.

If anything, it's the last sentence of Aleister that seemed a bit cryptic even for someone like Stiyl.

"It won't be an issue if he goes on his way out to assist the Imagine Breaker when the need to do so arises." The person in the tube reassured. "He's neither a magician nor an esper with no abilities to speak of. He has no excess to privileged information so using him will not risk a security breach or in the truce between the two factions. Yet when it comes to attrition and critical judgment, he will be helpful with the two of you. Here, take a look at his profile."

Aleister then showed Stiyl a screen showing the profile of the tealnette. His picture even shows him in his Seirin uniform.

 _Name: Kuroko Tetsuya  
School: Seirin High School  
Level: N/A  
Ability: Misdirection, Lack of Presence_

"So basically, you brought me back here to tell me that he can team up with me anytime he wants?" Stiyl concluded, seemingly bitter. "Care to tell me how can he even be helpful?"

"For someone who is just a newcomer here and is only attending summer classes here, he does seem to have the brains to understand your magic when he observes it carefully." Aleister continued. "Rest assured, you won't have to worry about your magical secrets being revealed."

"There are still a few things that bother me," Stiyl admitted.

"And what might they be?"

"First, there is the obvious requirement of needing to work with those two boys, but seeing as there is no other option, I will bear with it…" Stiyl sighed. "The second issues has more to do with how to get Kuroko Tetsuya in my service when the need arises. You said that he's only attending here for summer classes. Then that would mean that I had to go to this school called Seirin High School to get him into service."

"Rest assured, everything will be taken care of." Aleister replied with a smile. "As for your other concerns, you know how to clear out people you don't need, right?"

"I see." Stiyl nodded before leaving.

* * *

It was Monday morning and once again, Kuroko Tetsuya wakes up rather early. Or at least that's the case before he came to Academy City. Basically, ever since starting to drastically improve his Misdirection style of basketball, his sense of punctuality is starting to change—for the better. He's been waking up a lot earlier than usual so he can do his usual push-ups and lunges in his dormitory room.

And that's what he was about to do.

Luckily for him, there is no summer class today for him to attend to as it seemed that the school has some meeting for the faculty. _Lucky day._ The tealnette then recounted the events yesterday and the day before yesterday. _Magic is real._ He reaffirmed to himself as he began his would-be daily exercise as he lies in the floor before starting to push himself up. As he was finishing five rounds, he then remembers his encounter with Aureolus Izzard's Ars Magna, Kamijou's Imagine Breaker, and Stiyl Magnus's revelations to him. Apparently, there was some uneasy truce between the Science and Magic so that is why whenever a trouble involves a rogue magician, only fellow magicians can take action and that's the same way for the Espers. Probably the exception to the rule is Kamijou, whose power is neither magic nor scientific, and him, someone who isn't even an Esper and is just starting to learn about the Magic side.

 _It's so amazing to learn knowledge outside of my basketball world that it's also quite dangerous._

After finishing at least 20 push-ups, he had to stop as he felt his lungs would burst. But he was satisfied as this was a big improvement compared to only five push-ups or seven then he would begin to vomit afterwards. _But this isn't enough._ Kuroko thought defiantly as he lay in the floor to rest for the moment. _More…I need more. My Personal Reality would need sacrifices and if it means having to cut down my vanilla milkshakes…then I'll gladly do so._

Hilariously, he wasn't actually sure if he can do that, at least, when it comes to milkshakes.

After exercising vigorously, he then went inside the shower room to finally take his bath. After he did that, he then went to his kitchen and began to eat his breakfast, which consisted of his usual boiled eggs, rice, and an additional bowl of ramen soup. The latter was actually cooked by Kamijou yesterday night after he was discharged immediately from the hospital as some sort of a "thank you" gift. He heated it so he can consume it today.

As he was eating, he was thinking of what training menu his cousin is cooking up to kill him today. _What will we do today? Will we do some shooting? Passes? High-level dribble?_ Kuroko can't help but think about it as he was finishing his meal. And as soon as he does, he heard his phone ring. He then stands up to check who is it.

 _From: Shirai Kuroko_

 _Subject: Your Basketball Training_

 _Message: I'm here already. Where are you, Tetsu-nii?_

 _Ah, here it goes._ Kuroko thought inwardly as he then went back to his bed to change his attire into his practice clothes and his Asics playing shoes.

* * *

At the court, Kuroko saw Shirai in his Tokiwadai Physical Education uniform and shorts.

"Good morning, Kuroko-san." Kuroko greeted his cousin.

"Mornin' Tetsu-nii!" Shirai greeted back as she accepts the basketball that her cousin passes. "For today, I know that there are a lot of things in your mind but first, let's take up your moves up to a notch."

"Wait, what are we doing, Kuroko-san?"

"Dribbling." Shirai grinned deviously. She passes the ball back to her cousin but suddenly ran took the ball again from Kuroko and started. She was dribbling normally but then she slightly leant forward, catching the tealnette off guard. "This first thing that I'll teach you is the crossover dribble. Try to steal the ball." Kuroko got into position but due to Shirai's rather cat-like grins, he was anxious. He knew what a crossover dribble looked like, but he never really tried it.

After all, he didn't need to in the past. He's a passing specialist, after all.

Shirai continued to dribble while Kuroko tried to steal the ball. But every time he reached for the ball, the Level 4 Teleporter would switch the hand that the ball was in.

"In a crossover dribble, the player switches from one hand to other using a single dribble. It's mostly used to keep the ball in the hand furthest from the defender." Shirai explained in detail. "It's used in a combo so to speak; make the crossover…" Shirai said this as she did the action to demonstrate, "…Get around the defender…" She continued as he managed to get pass Kuroko. "…Drive to the basket."

She finished as she made her way to the hoop. She stopped, and sent the ball in Kuroko's direction. Kuroko could only stand and stare. _This dribbling session is going to take a while than I initially expected_. Kuroko mentally sighed. Thank God he was already familiar with basketball and that Shirai Kuroko is actually a flexible girl who knew a lot of sports.

After a few minutes of endless trial-and-error to hone and sharpen Kuroko's dribbling to the level that can compete with the likes of Aomine and Akashi, Kuroko sat on the court, breathless. His arms and legs felt like they were turning into jello. He and Shirai were constantly at it, practicing the crossover and hesitation dribbles. When he looked to his cousin, the girl with auburn hair looked as though she was dying from the countless runs and yells she was doing. Kuroko knew that her body was as strong, if not stronger, as Akashi's so this sight is somewhat a surprise for him. Getting up, Kuroko took Shirai under the arm and pulled her up. The two then headed over to where their bags were and took out the snacks.

"Tetsu-nii…" Shirai groaned. "I can't continue like this."

"What do you mean, Shirai-san? I don't―"

"I mean your body feels like it's on the verge of collapsing! You really need to shore up your stamina and speed though judging by today, it's slightly better than our first session. You must have been following what I was telling you, Tetsu-nii."

"Ah, that's what you meant." Kuroko shrugged.

"I'm going to have to help your body in that department, Tetsu-nii." The way Shirai grinned gave Kuroko an uneasy feeling. "I'll have your stamina and speed increase and also, that diet of yours needs to go. In fact, I recommend that you cut down your intakes of vanilla milkshakes." She sighed. "I still can't understand how you eat so little and play basketball at the same time. That's why you got limited to being a passing specialist."

"It's not my fault, Kuroko-san." Kuroko huffed as he folded his arms.

"Haah? By the way, Kuroko-san, how's you education in Seirin? You could have been much better suited here in Academy City with your IQ." Shirai was attempting to recruit his cousin to join her in Academy City.

"I'm afraid I can't transfer here. Seirin is the best place for me with its basketball team." Kuroko said bluntly.

"Tsk…I see. Let's go over what we did so we can go home!" Shirai shouted, quite irritated. Kuroko groaned at this. _I'm surprised Kuroko-san still had the energy to practice._

* * *

After spending the whole six hours in the morning doing nothing but dribble and dribble until it seeped down to his bones and muscle memory, Kuroko and Shirai lay down in the basketball court, visibly exhausted and tired. The tealnette was especially in a much worse condition; his muscles is extremely sore and he is sweating profusely. Still, he was more than satisfied. Or rather, he wasn't satisfied. _More…I got to do more. If I wanted to use my Misdirection and passing skills to its fullest potentials, I should expand and solidify my basics first. My goal is not only to support Kagami-kun as his shadow; I plan to stand on equal grounds with the Generation of Miracles. I'll prove them that my style of playing is as powerful as their signature moves._

And as much as his stoic self is telling him not to do it, he smirked.

 _Hard work beats talent, as they say. I'll prove that to them._

He then clenches his fists.

 _In order to really beat a genius, I must become a demon._

He then raises his hands as he lies down on the floor and inhales deeply.

*** _Like a black iron blade, I'll be real phantom pouncing from the deepest shadows._

"Neh, Tetsu-nii…"

Kuroko stops his monologue as he hears his cousin calling out to him.

"Have you tried street basketball?" Shirai asked.

"Kuroko-san, you should know that haven't even made a decent dribble prior to this." The Phantom Sixth Man deadpanned.

"I see. Your former light is a street baller, right? Then I guess you need to really learn street ball as well." Shirai shrugged and even before Kuroko can retort back. "Just think of it, that former light of your is very adept to street ball. How are you supposed to stop him when you're unfamiliar with it?"

Suddenly, Kuroko felt like he was a fish pulled out of a fish pond.

 _I guess Kuroko-san's right on this one._ The tealnette sighed when he realized that somehow, Shirai had a point in what she wanted to say. Still, judging how opposite his and Aomine's style is, a high-level dribble is the last thing on his mind. Perhaps, he can perform Akashi's style but to match Aomine's is a different thing.

After all, he won't be the Ace for no reason.

"Oh and by the way, speaking of levelling up your strength and stamina, I have prepared a training regime for you." Shirai smiled rather evilly as she pulled out a small sheet of printed paper from her pocket and put in in Kuroko's hands. The moment the tealnette has seen it, he felt like puking.

" _Anou_ …Kuroko-san, don't you think this is a bit too much?" The passing specialist shivered as he saw that his training regime included a jog in the morning with weights on his feet, suicides, push-ups, and, to his shock, a change in his diet.

"Why? We're young, Tetsu-nii. It won't kill you." Shirai explained. "Besides, you really needed a major revamp now that your body is not in the best condition to play at its present state. If you want to become more effective in your misdirection, learn the basics first as well as a change in your lifestyle. Who knows, it might help you when the need arises…"

"I see…"

* * *

The rest of week went by in a flash. Kuroko had finally gotten accustomed to life with Shirai, Kamijou, Index, and to some extent, the people from the school he's staying in, developing a routine of some sorts. In the morning before the sun is out, he would put on the weights gien to him by his cousin and go for his morning jogs and return after two hours. Then, he'd take a shower and brush his teeth. After his shower, he would put on his uniform and pack his duffel bag and then head downstairs for breakfast. Breakfast for Kuroko was hell, as he knew that with Shirai telling it, there's no way he can skip a meal consisting of sunny-side up eggs, oatmeal, fresh milk, three to four servings of fried rice and bacons. Luckily for him, he also developed some sort of friendship with Tsuchimikado Maika, the stepsister of a certain blonde backstabber and so, the cheerful maid was the one who was cooking for the tealnette and eventually, he got used to the change of diet and would even ask for a sixth serving of rice (though this is because his energy is all spent just jogging for two hours). At 7:30 on the dot, he would leave for school together with Kamijou Touma or sometimes, he would knock into the door of the Imagine Breaker if the latter overslept.

School was another routine. He would enter through the gates and would be usually greeted by either Komoe or their Physical Education teacher, Yomikawa Aiho. When they reach the room of class 1-7, he would just to sleep until Komoe walked in, or sometimes, he would be engaged in a conversation with either Kamijou alone or with Aogami and Tsuchimikado. Sometimes, Fukiyose also talks to him but it almost always ends up in a one-way communication as the tealnette would only say "yes" or "no" or worse, he would just blatantly ignore the Iron Wall Girl who, for some reason, seemed to be hell-bent in trying to gain his attention.

After school, his self-practice was always the same, save for some drills which he tend to add after he is finished in polishing his basics. Kuroko would go to the gym of their school and do warm-ups when the gym is empty, always being accompanied by Kamijou, who went along with him and sometimes, would even join him as well, Tsuchimikado, Aogami, and Fukiyose, who wasn't even invited by the tealnette but would follow the four out of her reasoning that she wanted to keep them on a tight leash. After his warm-ups and stretches, he would then go into his basics and start practicing them. Sometimes, he would use Kamijou as some sort of a dummy defense and somehow, the latter was amazed at how fast the tealnette has improved, given at how Kuroko told him he sucks at his own fundamentals.

After an hour of practice, he and Kaamijou would then walk home together until they reached their student dormitory. But as soon as Kuroko got home, he would change his attire first and head to the basketball court and waited for Shirai, who devoted much of her free time helping her cousin. When the other arrived, they would go through passing, dribbling and blocking so that Kuroko could perfect it in his mind, muscle memory, and his habits. Sometimes, Shirai would download basketball videos and would show it to her cousin before asking him to replicate them. This lasted for 2 hours and a half before they went home. In Shirai's case, she would claim that she needed her daily dose of 'onee-sama' which Kuroko didn't understand but made no effort to understand at all.

In short, that was Kuroko's first two weeks in Academy City.

* * *

It was **August 18**.

It was a Saturday morning. Kuroko woke up groggily as his body was sore from training.

Kuroko rolled over onto his back, and placed a hand over his eyes. The time was an ungodly five o'clock on a Saturday. Slowly, he found the strength to sit up in the bed, and when he was crawling towards his door, it swung open. There was Maika standing before him, fully dressed in her maid unifrom with a smug look on her face.

"You've just gotten up, Kuroko-san." Maika started, sitting atop of a cleaning robot. "If you don't hurry up, we'll arrive at the court late. I heard that you are having some kind of a special training course…"

"I know." Kuroko sighed as he retreats back to enter the washroom. He then proceeded to wash himself. After thirty minutes, he was out of the bathroom and dashed to his bed.

He then went in the kitchen and saw Maiko already preparing his food in his table. Inwardly, he was grateful that someone else is cooking for him in this place as he'll gladly admit he only knows how to boil eggs and he knew that's not even in the recommended diet his cousin gave to him. When he sat on the chair he then asked,

"Where's Tsuchimikado-kun?"

"He's still sleeping." Maika answered with a shrug. "He don't usually wake up until midday on a weekend anyway."

"I see." Was all Kuroko could manage.

Couple minutes later, Kuroko emerged from the kitchen and quickly put on his Asics before heading out for another round of training.

It was seven thirty when the Kuroko finally left the house. He walked in a fair pace to the basketball court which was about a ten minute walk from their student apartment house. The walk was silent, albeit the noise coming from a group of joggers in the other side of the road. Entering the court, Kuroko sighed a relief as the court was empty due to the fact that no one in their right minds would be up at this hour.

It was then that he spotted Shirai.

"Good morning, Kuroko-san…"

"Good morning, Tetsu-nii, now let's start with our training!" Shirai said as Kuroko then began to stretch his legs and arms. But as he was about to sprint, Shirai came up top him.

"Tetsu-nii, can you shoot?" The teleporter asked suddenly.

Kuroko looked at her as though she was a moron. "Kuroko-san, you should know that I can't."

"I…I see…" Shirai sighed. She then folded his arms. "The fact is your body is stronger right now and taller than I am, so I don't think there should be an issue with shooting given with your current training menu."

"That's―" Kuroko broke off, realizing the sense in Shirai's words. It gave him an idea. If he could pull this off, then that would mean he can shoot. Unconsciously, he found himself grinning.

"Kuroko-san, I think I am heated up." The tealnette can't help it

"Right you are, Tetsu-nii." Walking up to the net, Shirai stopped when he reached the three-point line. She then, with a focused mind, shot the ball towards the net. It went in with a smooth 'swish.' Shirai then turned to Kuroko with a triumphant grin on her face. Looking at Shirai, Kuroko was impressed, given that her height is exactly five feet. Shirai looked so graceful shooting that three that Kuroko could only stare on in awe.

"Neh, Tetsu-nii." Shirai began. "If I can do it, this means that you can actually shoot as well like a like a normal person. It's not actually your bodily restraints but something else." Shirai said while stroking his chin.

"Kuroko-san, I am a passing specialist. I guess it's in me to just pass the ball." Kuroko sighed. "So I suppose it's because of that."

"Maybe." She shrugged. "Well, try shooting a three." Shirai tossed the ball to Kuroko. He then walked up to three-point line, bent his knees to take the shot. However, before he could do so, Shirai came up beside him.

"Your stance is a little off and your shoulders are too tensed." She began, "Bend your knees a little bit more." She then placed her hands on Kuroko's shoulder. "Relax, Tetsu-nii. If you're overexcited, then your shots won't go in."

"How can I?" Kuroko asked. "There's so much that I have to be able to do in such a short space of time."

"You can do it, onii-chan!" Shirai smiled. "I believe in my cousin, after all. You weren't the phantom sixth man for nothing!"

"Th-thanks." Was all Kuroko could manage. Inhaling and exhaling, Kuroko had a look of determination within them. Bending his knees, Kuroko was in position ready to make a three. When he released the ball, he then stole a glance in Shirai's face and he knew it instantly.

He could see that the ball wasn't going to make it.

It stopped short, bounced off the rim of the hoop. Kuroko sighed.

"Tetsu-nii…" Shirai called. "Try making another three, you're almost there."

"Really?"

"Yes, forget about my shooting motion, adjust to your body instead. Make the jump according to your body's height and stretch your arms higher. They're a bit too close to your head when you release the ball. But most importantly, don't think about it. Just do it."

"Alright…" Kuroko was actually nervous. For the first time in a long time, Kuroko was shaking.

"Tetsu-nii." Shirai said as she chuckled. "There's no need for you to be shaking like that. As I said before, just do it. Don't worry about anything."

Kuroko once more got into position. He looked at the hoop with an intense stare, and then released the ball. The ball was beautifully arched in the air and Shirai couldn't help but grin. The ball went into the hoop with a swish, it was perfect. Without a second more, Shirai teleported to Kuroko's side and enveloped him in a tight bear hug.

"You did it!" She cheered.

"I actually did…" Kuroko himself was in disbelief. "I did…"

"So, how did it feel?"

"It felt extremely uncomfortable." Was Kuroko's blunt answer. "I'm not accustomed to shooting and I pass irregularly so…"

Hearing that Shirai got an idea, "I think I've found the problem to the reason why you can't shoot."

"And what's that?"

"Specializing in one field usually makes someone terrible in a field that's opposite to theirs, right?" Shirai made a good point. "Like if someone specializes in English, they tend to perform badly at Mathematics right?"

"Yes, but what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that the reason you can't shoot is because you never learned how to in the first place and now that you're specialize in passing, the opposite of shooting, it's going to be difficult for you." She explained. "And what's even worse, you may be in a situation where you must make a three especially if your Misdirection's effectiveness runs out against someone like your former light."

Kuroko shuddered. He knew Shirai was right, which means, he has to learn how to make a regular three, even if it is uncomfortable for a passing specialist like him.

But apparently, Shirai had other plans for Kuroko.

"Tetsu-nii, try shooting again, this time, use your palm."

"What? How's that going to work?"

"I don't know. But since you're a passing specialist, why don't you imagine that you're passing to the hoop instead?" Shirai stroked her chin.

"But how would the ball enter the net? And how can I use my palm to push the ball into the air in the first place?" Kuroko asked, quiet confused.

"Well ordinary shooters use the tips of their fingers…" Shirai held her hands over her head pretending to shoot. "But sometimes, there are variations. I mean, that Kobe Bryant guy has a loop style shot while…"

"I don't think it should matter." Kuroko cut her off. "As long as I can shoot a normal three, that should be fine right?"

"Yeah, but what if we could find a way to make you be able to shoot in a different way that is unstoppable? Wouldn't that be great?!" Shirai said. "I mean, if you can disappear, wouldn't it be cool if you could make your shot disappear too?"

"It…" Kuroko trailed off. He then imagined the expressions of shock and confusion on his opponents face when they tried to block the shot but it still ended up scoring. "…would be nice."

He then had a little smile on his face and Shirai wouldn't miss that.

"I know! But, anyway, the break's over. Let's get shooting!"

Kuroko groaned loudly. Shirai, on the other hand, had on a sadistic grin that if a certain Electromaster saw it, she would've ran.

* * *

It was **August 20** at 6:10 PM.

It was twilight at midsummer, and both Kuroko Tetsuya and Kamijou Touma were walking home, both worn out from their summer classes. Even though there was a reason for it, the spiky haired boy still found that going back to school for extra classes during summer vacation was threatening his sanity. As for Kuroko, there are more things that he consider important other than the summer classes. He was basically getting drenched with all the training regimen that his cousin slapped upon him. But in the end, it all worked greatly to his benefit and right now, the effects is starting to show.

Since those so-called "summer classes" usually started on the very first day of summer vacation, Kamijou probably was supposed to go to those classes from July 19th to July 28th as well.

Or at least, that was only the most likely case. Kamijou had no memories of events prior to July 28th, so he felt like he was being punished for lessons that he did not skip himself.

"What was up with that?"

Kamijou muttered loudly as he stood motionlessly in front of a lone juice vending machine that stood along a path with a shocked expression. Kuroko was watching him with a slight confusion. _What's that, Kamijou-kun? It's only a vending machine._

"No way, come on, please…"

He didn't want to give up on it so soon. Kamijou was sure he had inserted a 2,000-yen bill into the vending machine. Both were exhausted for the dya and they have decided to take some sodas. Yet, the boy with spiky hair was wondering why did the vending machine isn't responding in the slightest. Well, he knew very well that 2,000-yen bills were rare nowadays, but that was his hard-earned 2,000 yen. For a machine to take from him such a large amount of money and not respond is a very much scandalous moment for him.

 _What machine empire was rebelling at the moment?!_

As Kamijou frantically jiggled the money return lever in vain, his heart screamed his usual cataphrase.

"Such misfortune!" Kamijou cried as Kuroko can only watch him in pity. Ever since meeting him, the tealnette has grown accustomed to the boy's stings of misfortune. He himself found it strange since this is his first time to see a person really getting into such misfortunate activites.

In his despair, both Kuroko and Kamijou heard footsteps of a pair of loafers from behind him.

"Hold it... Don't stand so idiotically in front of the vending machine. If you're not buying anything, then get out of the way, move it. I need to rehydrate or else I won't be able to function anymore."

Just as Kuroko heard the sudden voice from behind him, his friend was gently pushed aside by

a girl's soft hand on his arm.

Living in a city full of students, that would probably happen now and then, but even so the unlikely contact surprised Kamijou.

 _What, what?_

When Kamijou and the tealnette turned his head around, he saw a middle school girl. She had shoulder-length light-brown hair, good looks that didn't need make-up, a short-sleeved white blouse with a summer sweater, a gray pleated skirt. Kuroko correctly guessed that it was the famous Tokiwadai Middle School uniform. But calling her "Ojou-sama" or even "Ojou0san" in front of her would be somewhat awkward. Complaining about the summer heat, she somehow resembled a shell-shocked salaryman getting off a fully-loaded train rather than a refined young lady.

 _Anou_... _Who is this person?_ Kuroko thought as the boy with raven hair stood there, as if trying to recall who this person who appeared to them was.

"It's me! My name's Misaka Mikoto! Try to remember, you total blockhead!" The instant the girl shouted, she unleashed a pale spark from her light-brown bangs.

 _Shit!_ Kuroko cursed mentally as he then moves out of his position in an attempt to cover himself

The instant Kamijou instinctively put himself on guard, a pale lightning bolt jumped out from the girl's forehead, and quickly rushed at Kamijou.

But in the end, the boy ended up cancelling out the shocks, to whick Kuroko knew it could only be the work of Kamijou's right hand, the Imagine Breaker.

"What are you crying there for?" asked Misaka, her hands on her hips. "If you have no use for the machine, then move it. I'm gonna bust it up."

"Ah..."

Kamijou looked back and forth between the machine and the girl called Misaka Mikoto.

Kuroko, meanwhile, was observing the middle school student. _What's this goosebumps that I'm feeling right now?_

* * *

 _ **Sneak peak for the next chapter!**_

 **Kuroko's first meeting with Misaka Mikoto went somewhat well, with the exception of the awkwardness due to the fact that Shirai Kuroko also appeared and from there, Kuroko now realized who this "one-sama" his cousin is talking about. But as they were all talking amiably, the appearance of a certain person made Kuroko almost question the morals of the city he was staying in.**

 **The moment he encountered with Misaka 10031 and 10032, he knew there is something fishy going out there. And he was determined to find out what exactly it is.**

 **See you in the next chapter!**


	6. Big Sister (Onee-sama)

There are a lot of things and weird people that Kuroko Tetsuya have encountered in the past, even before he had entered Teiko Middle School and became the Phantom Sixth Man of the Generation of Miracles. He had seen Aomine once answer to Kise that Kindergarten is one of the three gardens in their school, had witnessed Midorima go into frenzy because of his lucky items, had watched Murasakibara eat ten bags of potato chips simultaneously, Kise being able to run his mouth continuously for nearly three hours, Momoi hugging (and suffocating) him out of nowhere and Akashi's presence.

However, this situation which he was in was a bit different from the usual ones he was always involved to.

"That vending machine somehow keeps on eating bills." Kamijou sighed as his head is now tilted down.

"I know that already," Mikoto replied, quite irritated.

"You know it eats bills, yet you're still gonna pay? Is that machine an offertory box or

something?" The boy with spiky hair was sceptical.

"You're such an idiot." Misaka chided him. "There's a trick for this machine, an underhanded one that will have it spit out juice for free."

 _What?_

Kuroko had just a bad feeling about what Misaka will do—a really bad feeling. That "underhanded trick" might be something illegal and violent.

"Legendary amongst Tokiwadai Middle School students, a granny-like oblique kick at a

45-degree angle will restart any malfunctioning machine!" Misaka proudly said as she raised up her legs higher—unintentionally revealing her shorts which caught the attention of Kuroko. _Uhm…I'm not a pervert but I don't think wearing shorts in the skirt is…ladylike._

"Chaser !" With that yell, she sent a skirt-level kick into the side of the machine.

 _Clank!_

A painful clatter of something falling reverberated inside the machine, and then a can popped out.

"You know, since it's worn down, the springs holding the juices have loosened. You can't choose which juice comes out, though in exchange of that, you'll have lots of choices…Hey, what's the matter?"

"Nothing…" Kamijou monotoned.

As Kuroko had noticed, underneath her skirt were gym shorts. The boy with spiky hair felt that some of his dreams had just been destroyed.

"This Tokiwadai legend…does every young lady from Tokiwadai do it?"

"Most of the girls can't do that! Most girls wouldn't even dream of doing it…" Misaka replied, quite flustered.

"Maybe it's thanks to you girls doing this all the time that the vending machine is broken…" Kamijou murmured.

"It's fine, isn't it!? What are you angry for?" Misaka stubbornly retorted. "We didn't directly harm you, did we?"

"…"

"Eh? Oh, speaking of which, you look like you keep losing money against this machine—" Stopping midway, Misaka went silent. "By any chance, did this machine ate your money?"

Kamijou merely tilted his head away from Misaka's view as Kuroko is shaking his head.

"You, hold it! Tell me, how much money did you put in it?" The Tokiwadai Ojou-san is now getting curious.

"..."

Kamijou looked at her. He may have just met her, but he already realized that telling her "I lost 2,000 yen" wouldn't lead to her saying "Well, that's too bad!"

"I won't laugh, I promise. While you're at it, I'll take back your lost money!" Misaka promised the boy while Kuroko looked sceptical. _If I were Kamijou-kun, I won't fall for that._

 _What's with her being this kind?_ Kamijou thought as he watches Misaka wait for his reply. _This wouldn't have happened in the beginning had Mikoto not kicked the vending machine._

He was a bit scared, though, of being labeled "The Idiot Who Lost 2,000 Yen to a Machine", but Mikoto's words of "I won't laugh, I really won't laugh, I really, really won't laugh" assured him it was alright to confess. _Nothing can go wrong, right?_

"...2,000 yen."

"2,000 yen? You put in so much?" Mikoto asked, her eyes suddenly sparkling. "Wait, '2,000 yen'? Did you mean a 2,000-yen bill? Wow, I wanna see, I really wanna see it! A not-yet-destroyed 2,000-yen bill! Heheheh, ahahahahahahaha! So that's the vending machine's bug! Not even convenience stores accept 2,000-yen bills anymore, hahahahahahaha!"

 _Liar! You freakin' liar!_ Kamijou thought angrily as Misaka continued to laugh to hardly that she had to hold on to her chest.

"Anou…please don't laugh at Kamijou-kun anymore, ojou-san…"

Suddenly, Misaka stopped laughing as she suddenly heard a soft voice come out of nowhere. Looking to her right and to her left, she saw no one and this left her bewildered. But when she was about to turn her gaze back to the boy with spiky hair, she then saw a mop of light blue hair. Instantly, the pale face and stoic gaze was fixed upon Misaka's eyes.

In a moment, the girl had thought that she had seen a ghost.

"Gyaaaah!" Misaka screamed uncharacteristically. "Who the hell are you?! And when did you come here?!"

"Anou…I'm sorry for scaring you but I've been here since me and Kamijou-kun went here to the vending machine…" Kuroko, who revealed himself rather blandly, apologized sincerely as he bows respectfully.

Finally calming down after having a mini-heart attack, Misaka then took a look at Kuroko and scanned his body as she scrutinizes it. _Strange._ The Tokiwadai ojou-san raised her eyebrows at the surprisingly lack of presence of the tealnette, who is standing before her as he was sipping his cup of vanilla milkshake. _His actual presence is like that of a wind. You'll only feel it but seeing it is almost as impossible as…_

"Kamijou-kun, I think you shouldn't really put that much money in the vending machine." Kuroko finally spoke to the spiky haired boy, who was still crying silently over the loss of his paper bill.

"Hold on….you know this idiot?!" Misaka was beyond shocked as she rudely points at the boy.

"Kamijou-kun…hai…" Kuroko replied. "I'm in the same class as his in the on-going summer class. Oh and please, we got to help Kamijou-kun. It would be a waste if he doesn't get his money, at the very least."

Misaka then gave Kamijou a blank look and said. ""Well, then, let's hope that it'll spit that 2,000-yen bill back out. I won't accept it if this piece of junk spits out two 1,000-yen bills."

While standing in front of the vending machine, Misaka slowly placed her right palm over the coin slot.

Suddenly, Kamijou thought of a question.

"Hey, you, how are you going to get the money back from this machine?"

Mikoto gave him a blank look, and then replied. "Like this..."

A pale lightning-like spark jumped from her right palm and instantly struck the vending machine.

 _Bang!_

The heavy vending machine shook from side to side like a sumo wrestler. Black smoke from the machine's inner workings billowed out through the seams like those clouds of smoke seen in manga comics. _Uhm…is this even a good idea?_ Kuroko blinked at the now-crazy vending machine as Kamijou's face paled.

"Huh? That's strange. I didn't want to strike it that hard. Ah, lots of juice cans came out somehow. Hey, your 2,000-yen bill didn't come out, but at least 2,000 yen's worth of juice came out…is this okay?" Misaka turned to face the boy, only to see that he was already inches away from them. "Hey, why are you running for your life!? Oi!"

Kamijou didn't dare turn around. He ran at full speed to get even just one millimeter farther away from the vending machine. Kamijou could usually tell when misfortune would strike; he'd get a feeling about a second before whenever something was about to go wrong.

 _But not this time around._

"Shit! Somehow, I didn't expect this, but I should have at least noticed it sooner!" Kamijou panted as he ran to the nearest place he can take refuge.

Usually, even kicking the vending machine would only yield a silent alarm, but instead it screamed out at full power, as if letting out all of its pent-up energy.

* * *

By the time Misaka and Kuroko had caught up with him, Kamijou was already sitting in a bus stop in the business district. As the Imagine Breaker boy sat there dead tired, he gazed up at the August sky lit by the flaming-colored sunset. A blimp floated in the orange-dyed sky, the X-Vision display attached to its belly showing the Academy City news: "Today's Topic: Mizuho Institute, the patology research institute which deals with difficult diseases like muscular dystrophy announces its withdrawal from the business."

"Here." Misaka sighed as she sat down beside him, tossing can after can into his lap. She looked peacefully at the wind turbines turning round and round nearby. Get out of your happy denial mode and carry these juices already. Wasn't this originally meant for you?" Misaka carried one-half of the cans while Kuroko carried the other.

The middle school student was probably feeling a bit down from messing up with controlling her power.

"It feels like the second he accepts this, we'll rapidly evolve from bystander to accomplice and that's one thing we would like to avoid." Kuroko said as he takes a sit at Kamijou's right side. The latter continued to accept the cans being thrown to him but had to let go of one of the cans as it was too hot for him to handle. Misaka then took one can and sat on his left.

"What are you nervous about?" Misaka noticed Kamijou's facial expression and was disappointed so far. "You look like someone who ends up with stupid problems a lot because he thinks he is weak when he's not really. You are the one that defeated the one and only Misaka Mikoto, you know?"

"Uhmm…excuse me? What do you exactly mean that you defeated Kamijou-kun, ojou-san?"

"Gyaaah!" Misaka nearly spitted her drink as she was taken aback by the sudden voice of Kuroko, who was listening to the short girl talking and ranting. "Can you honestly do something about your presence? You'd be making people die immediately of heart attacks!"

"I'm sorry but to be honest with you, that's something I cannot do or even control." Kuroko explains gently. "A lot of people tells me that, to be honest."

Misaka once again takes a look at Kuroko. _So this blue-haired guy is the best friend of this idiot? I don't know why but there something with him that make me feels unsettled._

"Neh, Kuroko…how's your basketball training?" Kamijou Touma decided to change the subject.

"It's going fine, Kamijou-kun. Though I haven't yet reached my goal, I'm already seeing the fruits of my labor but there's still a long way to go." Kuroko replied.

 _Kuroko?_ Misaka made a funny facial expression as she found her stomach making a pained expression. _For some reason, why do I feel like I'm about to vomit?_

"Onee-sama?"

Suddenly, the atmosphere got a little lower the moment they heard a _familiar_ voice call out to the one being addressed as the big sister.

"Oh my gosh, onee-sama!" The girl in auburn pigtails and a green armband said in both shock and disgusted face as she seemed to not notice the tealnette, who was looking at her with a shocked face. "My, my, onee-sama. Pretending that you went to make-up lessons when it was actually a pretext for this…"

Misaka looked pissed as she then said something. "Just to be sure, what is this pretext that you talk about?"

"Is that not obvious?" The girl in pigtails smiled in a mocking manner. "To have a rendezvous with the gentleman there."

Before Misaka can actually explode in anger, Kuroko decided to intervene quickly as he saw that both of his companions are now getting uncomfortable. Quickly placing his hands in the shoulders of the girl who just came in, he murmured. "Kuroko-san, please that's enough. They are getting uncomfortable with your choice words."

"Oh please, I'm onee-sama's…"

Shirai wasn't able to finisher words as she heard that familiar voice and the familiar sensation of the hand that touched her shoulders. Tilting her head above, she finally managed to see the soft and pale face of her stoic cousin, who was merely staring back at her.

"Te-Tetsu-niii?!"

* * *

The buzzer has sounded.

 _ **110 – 98**_

The whistle of the referee is heard as the quarterfinal game between Touou Academy and Kaijo High School had just ended in victory of the black shirt dubbed the "Rising Tyrant." It's a fitting name for a school who just broke the hopes of the Blue Elites in trying to crack a semi-final spot but nevertheless, it was a fierce match. Kise finally managed to copy Aomine's free-form style of basketball and the two went head-to-head in their first high school duel. The blonde could have ended the match in his way if it wasn't for the fact that his body is resistant enough to handle the burden of copying skills from the four other Miracles who had their own signature skills.

Because of that, he ended up losing and to add salt to the injury, got a literal injury as he had to be helped get up to his feet by the firebrand captain Kasamatsu Yukio.

Somewhere in the bleachers, the Seirin High School basketball team, minus a certain tealnette, was watching the game with both awe and fear. Kagami had just seen how Kise improved rapidly and he got first-hand point of view of what is like to see a battle involving two different members of the Generation of Miracles. _It just sucks that Kuroko's not here. I could have asked him a lot of things about the other two members of the Generation of Miracles._

But as they were not all getting out of the gymnasium, Kiyoshi suddenly said something worrisome.

"You know what? I'm beginning to get worried over Kuroko there in Academy City…"

Everyone stopped walking the moment the Iron Heart let out those words from his mouth.

"Oi, Kiyoshi, you shouldn't be saying things like that!" Hyuga smacked him in his head. "Why the hell are you worrying about Kuroko?! He's a big kid already, for fuck's sake! Besides, the only reason he was there in Academy City is because he claims he had a cousin who will…"

"Do you think that's all to it?" Kiyoshi challenged their captain's claims. "Have you forgotten that other night when he called to us suddenly? Rune cards…Ars Magna…mana…I doubt if that's something related to basketball right now. Plus, we all heard that explosion from the phone plus that fact that he wasn't answering to us as if he's onto something is quite suspicious."

Everyone suddenly grew quiet at the rare outburst of the founder of the Seirin basketball team.

"Wait…Teppei…let's not jump to conclusions." Riko was forced to break the tense atmosphere as she intervenes personally. "Okay, I do admit that Kuroko-kun might be doing something that we don't know but until we don't know what that is, we'll have no choice but to trust him on this one. Besides, he isn't someone who would lie about his training menu. You know how much he fears it when I get mad."

"Well…yeah…" Hyuga scratches his head. "I mean…everyone here is afraid of your anger…"

Kiyoshi sighed as he surrenders this one and let it slide. "Okay. Fine. We'll just wait for Kuroko, then." He then returns to his goofy smile. "Well, let's not waste any time. Let's have some fun."

But as they were not walking in the streets, not one of them noticed that their center was just faking his smile. In fact, he wasn't at all happy about how oblivious they were.

 _I didn't live in Academy City, even for a bit but I heard a lot of things from there._ The Iron Heart talked to himself in his mind as he didn't participate in the conversation of the other seniors, which is a first for him. _I had a former teammate who went there and he said that people there are being subjected to Esper tests like guinea pigs. While I don't want to think about it, I hope Kuroko hasn't subjected himself to one._

Suddenly, he had an epiphany as he halted once again for a moment, too frozen to even take a step forward.

 _What if Kuroko's already involved on such test? What if, just for the sake of becoming stronger, he agreed to take such experimentations?_

He then motioned to the others to go ahead as he made a lie that he had something to attend to. As he goes on another route, he had made up his mind.

 _Tomorrow, early in the morning, I'll have to go and check on Kuroko there, even if it means having to be absent from our early morning drills._

He has made up his mind as he then sprinted towards home, hoping he can fix some things to bring as early as possible.

* * *

Apparently, this is one meeting that Kuroko didn't expect.

After his cousin accidentally (or rather, intentionally) barged into to their little meeting, Shirai ended up introducing his cousin and brother-figure to her onee-sama, who was a bit surprised to get to meet Kuroko. Likewise, the tealnette was very astonished to see the big sister that his cousin is always rambling about. _Oh, so this hot-tempered middle school student is Kuroko-san's senior and best friend. Wait…so they're roommates?_

"I see…" Misaka was busy scrutinizing the tealnette from head to toe. "You know what…I don't know what to feel about you, Kuroko-senpai. Your presence really isn't there for some reasons…"

"A lot of people have told me that fact." Kuroko deadpanned.

"And yet, you're that so-called Phantom Sixth Man of these Generation of Miracles?" The Tokiwadai student was sceptical at this and then sighed. "I heard about that famous group like two years ago and Teiko is one of the best schools outside of Academy City. Seriously, did you even thought of studying here though?"

Kuroko blinked at that question. _Kuroko-san has asked me that question, too._

"My dream is to play basketball and there are already a lot of schools outside Academy City that has a good basketball program, like Teiko Middle School." Kuroko explained. "I…"

Suddenly, they heard a ringing.

And it was coming from the phone of a certain teleporter.

"Ehh! My assignment with Judgement is coming up! Sorry but I have to leave!" Shirai shrieked as he waves good bye to the group. "Take care, Tetsu-nii, onee-sama! You ape, stay away from the Ace of Tokiwadai!" She had the guts to growl at Kamijou before she eventually teleported away from their sight.

 _Wow, that's harsh of you, Kuroko-san…_ Kuroko thought in his mind as he didn't realize until now that his cousin loves her onee-sama so much that she would be prepared to hate any male that fawns over Misaka. _And that's creepy, to be honest._

"Onee-sama?"

"Eh? Again?!" Kamijou turned around to see who called back.

And saw standing behind the bench another person.

 _Another_ Misaka Mikoto.

"What?" Kuroko, who also turned his back, didn't know what to say about this. _Is she Misaka-san's cousin or what?_

From what he could tell, the girl behind him looked no different from the Misaka Mikoto that the tealnette has met earlier. Shoulder-length light-brown hair. Good looks and features. A white short-sleeved blouse. A summer sweater. A pleated skirt. From features and uniform to accessories, there could be no doubt about it: "Misaka Mikoto" was standing there.

But there was just one problem.

Kuroko returned his gaze to the girl that just joined them when he and Kamijou were hunting for some drinks. Shoulder-length light-brown hair. Good looks and features. A white short-sleeved blouse. A summer sweater. A pleated skirt. While not unexpected, he was looking at a seated "Misaka Mikoto."

 _Am I getting cross-eyed or just being under stress?_ The Phantom Sixth Man didn't know which is which.

There were differences, though. The girl standing behind the bench had what looked like night-vision goggles on her forehead and they looked some kind of unused swimming goggles. Her eyes seemed emotionless, which actually creeped the shit out of Kuroko as he didn't know he'd meet someone who could actually make a stoic face harder than his. Her unfocused gaze fixedly followed the back of the seated Mikoto's head.

"Eh?! They've multiplied!? It's Misaka number two!"

Kamijou was startled and looked back and forth between the two Misaka Mikotos. Compared to the also surprised face of the one sitting beside him, the one standing behind the bench was staring back expressionlessly.

"So…" Kamijou tried to stir up a conversation as he looked back, "Who might you be?"

"Younger sister, says Misaka in a flash."

 _What?_ Kuroko raised his eyebrows at the strange way the second Misaka answered.

"You, Misaka, refer to yourself as 'Misaka' when talking about yourself?" Kamijou was understandably confused. "I don't refer to Misaka as 'Misaka' since we don't use our formal names. Wouldn't it cause chaos even at home if you call yourself 'Misaka'?"

"But Misaka's name is still Misaka, answers Misaka immediately." The standing Misaka replied fast.

Kuroko was praying this was some kind of joke.

 _There's no way Misaka would call herself "Misaka." There must be an unwritten rule for this._ Kamijou looked to Misaka sitting beside him for assistance, but he was surprised once more. The original was glaring at her silent "sister".

"I-I see, so you're the little sister." The spiky haired boy scratched his head. "But you really do look alike. Both your height and weight look the same."

Mikoto kept glaring at her sister.

"Our genetic makeup is the same, answers Misaka. Moreover, inquiring about a girl's body weight is rude, says Misaka while speaking her mind." The second Misaka replied, still looking stoic.

Mikoto was still glaring at her sister.

 _What a strange person._ Kuroko thought as he decided to take out a basketball from his duffel bag and began to fiddle it as a way to pass time while this is happening.

"Then I guess you must be twins." Kamijou began to speak again about their faces. "Hmm… it's the first time I've seen identical twins but you two really do look identical. Well, what are you going to do, Futago-chan? Return to Nee-chan?"

Misaka had been continuously glaring at her sister for some time.

"How overly naive of this shallow rascal, so Misaka will answer your question so that you may catch on. Misaka came to see and confirm the one with the same power detected within a 600-meter radius of Misaka…"

If they were identical twins, then their similar powers manifesting was plenty enough to think about.

And though he thought about it, Kamijou was especially scared of Mikoto's gaze.

"Why are you wasting your time here?!" Finally, the Misaka seating on the bench roared as she stands up.

"If you ask for why, I'm here for training, said Misaka with a clean answer."

"'Training'."

Misaka cut her breath short as if she were struck from behind, and turned her eyes away. She murmured something, but it didn't reach the ears of the two present boys.

"Ah…training…" She said in a lovely, yet suspicious tone of voice.

"Anou…" For some reason, Kuroko sensed that tone as well as he then said something. "Somehow, you're talking as if you're suddenly dismissing information like it's only from a crank call, Misaka-san…"

"Heh…I'm not dismissing it bur rather, I'm merely stating it clearly and properly." Miskaa brushed off Kuroko's observations and then looked at her own sister. "We've got lots of talking to do. Lots of it. Hey, little sister, can you come with me for a bit?"

"Ha? No, even Misaka has a schedule to stick to and—"

"Enough already." Misaka looked at her sister dead-on as she then clamps her shut and puts an arm in her shoulders. "We're going."

 _That strange, flat voice…_ Kamijou somehow sensed it.

The two boys can only watch as the two Misakas leave the scene quietly. Yet something is not seating right with Kuroko.

 _Okay, I have a feeling that something's up with this._

* * *

With that, Kamijou Touma and Kuroko Tetsuya began to head back unsteadily through the crimson twilight with their hands full of the cans of juice that was in exchange for feeding that vending machine with the raven's own money. The residential road leading to the student dorm was narrow to the point that it was too slender for even cars to go through but just when he thought that cars probably won't go through here, he was almost sent flying by a car suddenly backing out from a garage.

 _That was pretty close, Kamijou-kun._ Kuroko thought to himself.

But no matter the bad luck of Kamijou, he had yet to experience the misfortune of dying with a smile by being run over just five minutes from the dorms.

"Returning home is an adventure in itself…" Kamijou exclaimed as he lifted up the cans again.

"Indeed, Kamijou-kun." Kuroko agreed as he took a tighter grip on the plastic holding the other cans.

Suddenly, the two boys noticed a tennis ball suddenly rolling in front of his foot.

 _Someone playing must have neglected it._ Kamijou thought.

"Hey, hey."

Kamijou, aware of the danger of stepping on the tennis ball, stopped his raised foot and moved it a bit horizontally to avoid the ball.

 _Hey, that's dangerous; what'll I do if I step on it and fall?_

Bu as he thought of that, a sudden gust of wind appeared.

As if the rolling ball were calculating, it slid into the gap between the ground and Kamijou's foot.

"Dammit! No!"

With his entire weight already on his foot, it was too late to stop. Kamijou, having stepped on the ball full force, flopped onto his back.

Thanks to the large pile of juice cans, he couldn't balance well. Kamijou, his back totally flattened, coughed up air, squirmed, and rolled. Bad luck, and even the air didn't tell him that.

The cans of juice that was in his hands ended up rolling and scattering in the floor with a clattering sound. "You really didn't have much luck, Kamijou-kun." Kuroko sighed as he then lowers the plastic that he was holding and decided to pick up the cans for him as Kamijou is still lying in the floor. But as the latter was about to stand up, a shadow fell over him.

 _Huh? Clouds?_

And Kamijou instinctively raised his gaze upward.

Misaka Mikoto was standing in front of him.

 _Heh?!_

Feeling the pressure of a middle school girl looking down silently at him from above, Kamijou instinctively stepped back.

"Y-you—eh?" Kamijou was stuttering. "I thought you were off carrying your little sister somewhere else? Now what? If you want more juice, you're gonna be taking two or three of them this time, though."

Misaka did not respond to Kamijou's words.

 _Something's weird._ Kuroko, who saw this as well, thought as he was slowly picking up the cans.

Misaka was already looking down at Kamijou with her expressionless eyes.

"If it's important, help is in order, as Misaka would propose with a sigh."

 _What?_

Far from being a sigh, even by breathing suspiciously quietly, Misaka made Kamijou and Kuroko doubtfully look at her. At that point, he finally noticed the pair of NV goggles hanging from Misaka's hand.

"Ah, right, it's the little sister. You…you really look like Misaka..."

"...Misaka, is it? As Misaka would ask back. Aah, you mean Onee-sama, is it?"

"Who else?"

"Anou…" Suddenly, Kuroko's calling caught their attention. "Excuse me but can you two go ahead? I need to just do something right now and I just remembered it right now."

"Is that so, Kuroko?" Kamijou ask for confirmation and when he got the nod from the tealnette, he then accepted the plastic bag from the passing specialist. "Well, this little Misaka imouto would help me carry the cans then. Good luck to your business, Kuroko."

As the two faded away from his sight, Kuroko then went on his own way to search for a convenience store.

The truth is his stomach isn't feeling well ever since meeting the two Misaka 'sisters."

 _What is this that I am feeling?_ Kuroko found himself getting unsettled. _Am I just getting paranoid or it's just the result of the stress from our basketball training?_

He didn't know that hours from now, he would get his answers.

In an unexpected way.

* * *

 _ **Sneak peak for the next chapter!**_

 **The next day was just very normal for Kuroko and Kamijou…at least on the broad daylight. But the moment they meet Misaka again near a windmill, things go awry. From there on, the death of one of Misaka's sisters would lead to a trail of bloodshed and violence in which Kuroko would found himself walking through. Unknown to him and Kamijou, in the end of that path lays Academy City's strongest Esper, whose power is unrivalled even among the city's Seven Level 5s.**

 **On a sidenote, Kiyoshi Teppei also finds himself getting into the city which he had heard before. Understandably, he would fail in finding Kuroko in the large city until he chances upon a certain silver-haired nun who was wailing about the 'absence of Touma and Tetsuya.' From there, the Iron Heart would find out that in trying to find Kuroko would also mean crossing paths with the Science and possibly the Magic Factions.**

 **See you in the next chapter!**


	7. Absolute Power

"Sorry, Hyuga. I'll be away for once...again..."

The early morning sunlight and its serene atmosphere was shattered by the voice of the Iron Heart calling to their captain while he was in front of his set of clothes that he was packing into his bag. After thinking about all of it last night, he had already decided and made up his mind about checking on Kuroko's safety.

" _And didn't you even think about the consequences of what you're about to do?!_ " Understandably, Hyuga was upset about the decision of their center to skip practice. " _Besides, you know how coach…_ "

"I'll handle Riko by myself…" Kiyoshi cut off their shooting guard. "I can explain to her why I decided to skip practice for now. But for now, you know where I am going to right now." There is a hint of seriousness in Kiyoshi's voice.

There was a long moment of silence in the other line before Hyuga managed to reply back. " _Fine. But as captain, you'll have to come back with added weight training into your menu._ "

"Fine, Hyuga." Kiyoshi nodded as he then outs down the phone. As he then puts his clothes into his travelling bag, he was thinking how he would get to find Kuroko in Academy City. As far as he remembers, the city is so big that it is divided into 23 School Districts with each specific purpose.

"I do hope Kuroko's doing his part to become individually stronger." Kiyoshi spoke to himself as he packs the last of his canned coffee into his travelling bag. On the hindsight, he knew that there is no other reason for the tealnette to stay in Academy City other than the fact that this is the perfect place to train himself physically. _I mean, they have advance equipment and anything else. There is no reason for Kuroko to do things not related to basketball._

Or is it?

Kiyoshi sighed as he goes outside of his grandparent house to wait for a taxi that will take him to Academy City. _I can't turn back now, though. I'll finish it then._

Just then, he heard the bark of a familiar dog. "Nigou? Hey! Yeah, I kind of forgot to walk you around!" Kiyoshi kneels to the round to pat the Alaskan Malamute puppy that Kuroko has picked up once and since then, it has become his pet. Coincidentally, it was Kiyoshi's turn to take care of the dog this week.

Suddenly, the Iron Heart had an idea. Carrying the puppy into his arms, he then whispers to himself. "I do hope they allow you there."

* * *

 **Touou High School**

On the other side of Tokyo, the Touou basketball gymnasium was noisy. The boys were in the midst of their heavy practice as they were all running back and forth in the court. Despite qualifying for the semi-finals match versus Onita High School, Harasawa didn't dare let them slack off one moment as he knew that barging into the final four isn't enough for a school that struggled for years before Aomine joined the team. They all saw the matches involving Yosen High and Rakuzan High which former Teiko and now Touou manager Momoi went to watch it with her own eyes.

But even so, there were a lot of things that was bothering her.

"Aomine-kun!" She called out to her childhood best friend, who was again sleeping on the roof top after merely shooting a basketball in their gymnasium without even warming up. "Can I ask something?!"

"What do you want, woman?!" The tanned player barked as he tried to get his sleeping stance. Not liking his answer, Momoi then went to the roof top herself. "Aomine-kun, you should practice! We're up against Onita…"

"There's no point in practicing, Momoi." Aomine lazily answered as he rolls on his left side. "Their best player in Kobayashi is nothing more than an average passer. I would send their team packing in less than twenty minutes."

"Mou…but if that's the case, then you would practice when you'll play against either Akashi-kun or Mukkun?" The pinkette asked, slightly hopeful.

"Maybe…maybe not…" Aomine yapped. "The only one who can beat me is me."

Momoi said nothing more after hearing these words. Somehow, it pained her to see his Dai-chan not seriously taking their practice well. But that was exactly why she chose to attend to Aomine's school rather than the school of her one-sided crush.

Speaking of that…

"I haven't seen Tetsu-kun since our last game against his school." Momoi was basically unsure if she should be hurt or surprised. "I know he had a weak presence and that I had a hard time reading what's on his mind but this is just crazy. When I scouted their games against Midorin's Shutoku High, he wasn't even present. He wasn't even around when I spotted Seirin watching our match versus Ki-chan."

Aomine, for once, then rolled to his right to look at her. "So? You seemed confused, Momoi. I have beaten Tetsu and his phony of a light in that Bakagami already so what's the point of bringing him up? Besides, the past is irrelevant. We're enemies now." After letting out those words, he then stood up and walked away, leaving Momoi in bewilderment and loneliness.

* * *

In the same day that a certain Iron Heart has left his home, summer class was underway as well.

It seemed sorrowful, watching a student sitting in the middle of the classroom on a lovely morning. At first, Kamijou thought, "Come on, is this an elementary school of a depopulated town?" but as it went on for three to four days and then five to six days, the brightness of his soul had disappeared, and tutoring only left him feeling sick of it.

But that tutoring would be over in two days, today included. Kamijou could have felt hopeless that "Summer break finally starts on August 22!?" but he was happy to be getting out of tutoring at all. But that was him only as his friend and basketball practice partner, Kuroko, was busy jotting down notes in his notebook though one cannot be sure if it's actually what was being written in the board.

Kamijou stared at the teacher's desk in front of him.

For the past few hours, Tsukuyomi has been busy in talking about how students in Academy City can upgrade their powers. She was talking with her paper placed on the desk, but Kamijou and to some extent, Kuroko wondered why she had put it on the desk. It would have been far easier to read if she had just held the paper in her hands.

As the lessons go on, Kuroko had to wonder whether summer class depends on the preference and grades of the student as he noticed that Fukiyose and the others aren't present in the classroom.

Which leaves him, Kamijou, Aogami, and Tsuchimikado on the summer class currently.

"Regarding the mandatory requirement for the re-establishment of ESP card experimentation in the United States in 1992, the material for the card was changes to ABS resin. This is a trick to handle the problem of being able to tell the type of card from the finger oil making up the fingerprints on the back of the card and..." Suddenly, she stopped reading her notes when she noticed one of her students isn't paying attention. "Hey, Kamijou-chan, are you listening?"

The sleepy spiky haired boy raised his head up and yawned, "Yes, Komoe-sensei. I am listening but what does this have to do with powers? Besides, it's not like I can gain any power from listening."

"Kami-yan is a Level 0 after all." Aogami butted in as he rolls a pencil in his hand.

"What can't increase won't increase." Tsuchimkado added.

"I don't know about here but personally, I believe power and strength isn't only based on Esper abilities, Komoe-sensei." Kuroko finished the blow.

"You can't give up just because you don't have any power." Komoe knew she had to say something. "If you give up, things you can achieve won't get achieved. So, by learning the basic basics of power, I think that you can find the way of finding your very own skill."

"Sensei?" Kamijou suddenly asked out.

"Yes?"

"Well, you seem to be working very hard, but some things that can't get achieved won't be achieved." Kamijou stubbornly said.

"Well, it's a case-to-case basis but I can see where you're coming from, Kamijou-kun." Kuroko backed him up on this one. "I myself had faced upon that wall once."

"Kamijou-chan! Kuroko-chan!" Komoe shrieked. "I can't say that effort will always lead to success, but people that never try will never succeed! Even the third place out of 2,300,000 people, Misaka Mikoto from Tokiwadai Middle School, was once a Level 1, but she worked hard and got all the way up to Level 5! So, Kamijou-chan should work hard, too!"

 _Heh?_ Kuroko heard information he didn't expect. _Misaka-san's a Level 5?_

"Number 3? Her?" Kamijou raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

"Kamijou-chan, you know her?"

"Not really…"

"By the way, Kuroko-chan, just because you're here only because you have a basketball session to attend doesn't mean that you can ignore what you are learning here." The pinkette turned her attention to the bluenette. "Who knows, you might end up getting interested to study here in Academy City."

"Sorry but I don't think that's close to happening, sensei." Kuroko apologized sincerely. "Nevertheless, I'm taking what you are teaching into heart though it kind of confuses me how high-level Espers can still live a normal life."

"Are you saying they're not normal humans, Kuroko-chan?"

"Ah, sorry, what I mean is…"

"That's enough! Now, Kamijou-chan, open up your textbook to page 82 and read about the Psychometer's mind-protection power used in criminal investigation."

Like this, today's summer class went by.

* * *

And thus, the day's extra sessions of class ended.

It was 6:40 p.m.

Kamijou and Kuroko had missed the last train that left at the time all students were supposed to have left school so they were both leisurely walking through a shopping district. In order to prevent students from spending all night out, the last trains and buses in Academy City all left at 6:30 p.m. The idea was that people would not go out late at night if the transportation system was stopped.

"I'm not sure if I should be glad it's only one more day or be complaining that there's still another day." The boy with spiky hair complained to the tealnette walking beside him. "At any rate, this has gone on way too long. Dammit. Once it's all over, I'm going to the beach!"

"I see…"

As they were both walking towards their student dormitory, there was something that Kuroko didn't fail to notice. It didn't look like the wind was blowing but for some reason, the blades of the wind turbines were definitely turning.

 _That's strange._ Kuroko thought to himself. _How can these windmills move by their own without wind?_

"Huh?"

Kamijou spotted a familiar-looking back amid the crowd. It belonged to a brown-haired girl wearing a Tokiwadai Middle School summer uniform.

It was Misaka Mikoto.

She was leaning into the rail while watching the windmills turn.

Both of them had no real reason to avoid her so they jogged a bit to catch up with her.

"Yo. Are you on the way home from some extra lessons, too?" Kamijou made a joking face in which Kuroko only facepalmed. _That's not how you talk with ojou-san's, Kamijou-kun._

"Ahn?" was Mikoto's unfeminine response. "Oh, it's you. I'm pretty tired and I want to preserve the strength I have left, so don't make me zap the hell out of you. So what do you want?"

"Nothing really. We just happened to be on the same road as yours so I just thought we could walk together."

"We?"

"Uhm…that would be me…"

Misaka suddenly gasps in shock as she holds her heart while her eyes bulged at the sight of Kuroko suddenly appearing in her line of sight. "Seriously?! Do something about your lack of presence. It's actually more frightening that Kuroko's sudden teleportation." This was a big opinion since it's coming from someone who is constantly harassed by her roommate.

"Sorry, Misaka-san. I can't do anything about it, though." Kuroko apologizes sincerely as he bows.

In the end, Kuroko, Kamijou and Misaka walked along a main street while continuing their random discussion.

Many different wind turbines stood along the street. Kuroko can't help but look up at the spinning blades and then noticed a blimp floating in the evening sky. The exhibition screen on the side was displaying the day's news. Apparently, three research facilities related to muscular dystrophy had been evacuated over a two week period and there was concern over the intense cold coming to the entire city.

The conversation trailed off because Kuroko's focus turned to the blimp.

"I hate those blimps…" Misaka muttered, prompting the two to stop walking.

"Why not?" Kamijou asked as he looked back up toward the blimp. Like Kuroko, he has been noticing it as well but chose not to delve to it too much. Besides, he was pretty sure he had heard that the blimps had been sent out because Academy City's board of directors had said the students needed to be more aware of current events.

"Because humans are abiding by the policies set by machines." The Level 5 student replied as she leans into another rail again.

"Machines?" Kamijou and the Seirin passing specialists simultaneously asked. Suddenly, the boy with spiky hair recalled something else. "Ah…I think that was…what was that…Three Diagram?"

"Three Diagram—the most powerful supercomputer in the world, installed in Orihime 1, the artificial satellite Academy City has launched using "data weather processing" as a cover." Misaka explained calmly. "

 _Weather forecasting may sound familiar, but that was a field where things could only be forecasted. They could not be declared as fact. Because the movements of each of the air particles that created "weather" were incredibly complex and intertwined with the butterfly effect and chaos theory, one could say that there was an 80% chance of rain the next day, but one could not say that it would definitely rain at 9:10:00 AM. That started to enter into the realm of quantum mechanics._ Kuroko thought as he remembers what Komoe has taught to their class though he doubts if Kamijou actually listened to it.

However, Tree Diagram had moved weather forecasting to weather predicting.

It did not do anything complicated. Basically, if it could perfectly predict the movements of every particle in the air around the world, there was only one answer it could come up with.

Tree Diagram had ridiculous enough specs to do that, but some people theorized that its use for weather forecasting was just a front and it actually had some other true use.

Incidentally, there was one irregular aspect of Tree Diagram's weather forecasts.

It calculated the weather forecast for an entire month all at once.

There was no real problem with that because it was still accurate, but it still seemed like unnecessary effort. After all, next month's weather was much, much more likely to be off than tomorrow's weather. If the goal was accurate weather forecasts, it would be better to redo the calculations each day.

Yet the Tree Diagram used the more difficult method.

It was rumored that the leftover time was used for research simulations.

Drug reactions, physiological reactions, electrical reactions, and all sorts of other things could be calculated by Tree Diagram and a couple of tests could confirm the answer given. Being able to create a new drug like that almost sounded crazy. According to the rumor, there were researchers that did not know how to use a test tube and who did not like touching lab rats.

A super computer with that much power had plenty of enemies. Human supremacists who hated machines could try to blow it up in a terrorist attack at any time and AI supremacists who hated people might try to sneak into the storage area for Tree Diagram to steal the technology.

In order to protect it from external enemies, Tree Diagram was currently kept in a place where human hands could not reach it.

Basically, the satellite launched by Academy City was Tree Diagram.

Kuroko stared blankly up at the evening sky. Tree Diagram was orbiting outside the atmosphere even then and it was possible it would continue calculating even if the world ended.

"So it's like a steel brain watching down on mankind from above…" The Seirin Phantom players let his thoughts out as his baby blue eyes looks towards the sky.

"They say that, but does such a ridiculous absolute simulator really exist?" Misaka muttered as if he is reading from a memorized script of a poem.

"Hah?"

Kamijou looked back toward Misaka's face, but all of the sudden, Misaka suddenly turned to Kamijou and without warning, she proceeded to chop down his head.

"Ouch! Bastard! Why did you do that all of the sudden!" Kamijou didn't appreciate the gesture of the Tokiwadai ace.

"Ah, I've become a bit of a poet now!" Standing before him was indeed the lively, smart-assed, and selfish Misaka Mikoto that his "new" person had met before. "Hahahaha. Well, I have to go this way…" Misaka said, ignoring Kamijou's yell.

The girl's spirits had been changing from instant to instant, but she then left. Kamijou blankly watched her leave with a puzzled look on his face.

"…I don't understand her. Is this what you call the characteristics of puberty? Or does she just hate me?"

Kuroko scratched his head at this scene he was witnessing.

"Who knows, Kamijou-kun…"

* * *

But in that case, he couldn't make sense of the scene before him.

 _That's Misaka, isn't it? What's she doing?_ The raven haired boy made a weird facial expression.

After heading down the road a bit after Misaka left, the two saw Misaka crouching by the side of the road. She was next to a cardboard box sitting at the base of a wind turbine. Just as Kamijou's brain sent out warning signals because the scene was familiar, he saw a black cat sticking up from the cardboard box.

It seems that Misaka was trying to feed the cat by bringing a sweet bun close to it, but the frightened cat pressed its ears back on its head and balled up as if someone were swinging his fist down toward it.

"That's not how she should feed a cat." Kuroko said to himself and at the same time, felt a bit doubtful about what he suddenly said since what he takes care is his puppy, not a kitten.

 _Does she hate me so much that she purposefully went down that other road to get away from me? But then why is she ahead of me now? Why would she circle around ahead of me?_ Kamijou's head was full of questions.

But then, they noticed something.

At Misaka's feet as she crouched was a pair of NV goggles.

"Ah…that must be Misaka Imouto-san…" Kuroko mused as he took out his basketball from his duffel bag and dribbles it.

"Without the goggles, you really can't tell them apart," Kamijou muttered.

Misaka Imouto suddenly stopped moving while staring emotionlessly at the black cat. Without saying a word, she turned just her head like a lighthouse to look at Kamijou.

"Hey. Thanks for carrying those drinks and taking care of those fleas yesterday." The spiky haired boy said.

"What? What did she do to deserve your gratefulness?" Kuroko asked in curiosity.

"Ah…you were not there, right? Basically, she helped me carry the remaining cans of juices and she also helped get rid of the fleas from Sphynx's body. You know…Index's kitten…" Kamijou grimaced at the horror of his room just inches away from getting infected with those parasites.

"Your compliments were not my objectives, answers Misaka." The imouto replied as he held out a bun. But after that, she just stood up emotionlessly.

"What? You're not going to feed that to the cat?" Kuroko asked.

"No…That is not it." Misaka Imouto froze. "Either way, it is impossible for Misaka to feed this cat, concludes Misaka. Misaka has a fatal defect, says Misaka in an additional explanation."

"A defect? Don't say it like that." Kamijou tries to comfort her.

"No, it is the appropriate term. Misaka's body is constantly forming a weak magnetic field, explains Misaka. The human body cannot detect it, but it seems other animals can."

"Uhm…come again?" Kuroko felt like a migraine will soon come into his head.

"It is said that the strange movements of animals that act as an omen of an earthquake are the animals' reactions to changes in the earth's magnetic field caused by changes in the earth's crust, says Misaka giving an easy-to-understand example."

"Hm. The animals don't like it and run away, right?" Kamijou sees the connection in it. "So does your magnetic field make animals hate you, Misaka Imouto?"

Misaka Imouto looked ever so slightly annoyed.

"They do not hate Misaka. They merely have a slight dislike of her, says Misaka correcting you." Misaka imouto sighed and then went on. "At this rate, it is to fear that this cat will be taken away to an animal shelter, indicates Misaka."

"Well, you got a point but…" Kamijou tried to dismiss it but he as cut off.

"Do you know how animals taken to an animal shelter are treated, presses Misaka." There is a slight edge in Misaka imouto's voice.

Kamijou wanted to argue back but the look in the girl's blank eyes told him he wasn't going to win that argument. With how stubborn this girl was in comparison to Mikoto, it was becoming even more unclear as to whether she was her twin or an artificial clone.

Regardless of the state of his investigation, Kuroko reluctantly picked the cat out of the box for the indecisive boy and cradled it in his arm. They would have to figure something out for the little guy for the time being.

* * *

The orange sky had turned to purple.

Kamijou and his two companions walked along a main road while looking down at the black cat cradled in Kuroko's arms. "Kuroko, you sure do know how to handle a pet." The spiky haired teen observed how the tealnette hold the kitten in his arms.

"I have a pet dog back there in Seirin High so I had an idea." Kuroko explained in a stoic manner. "I was slightly surprised though that it worked on cats as well."

 _Well, I know how to well enough. Index on the other hand…_

Kamijou sighed as he walked along the street as it started to look more like night. If it was just a cruel prank, you just had to get rid of that cruelty, but Index was acting completely out of the goodness of her heart so doing that would have the reverse effect. As she was doing it out of the goodness of her heart, she would feel it was the right thing to do and would not hesitate to continue. If they don't hurry right now to a bookstore and buy a book on raising cats, that smiling pure-white nun might end up with the nickname Death End.

"By the way, imouto-san," Kuroko's ghostly-like voice snapped the other male in the group out of his dreams. "You should at least give a name to the cat."

"Very well," the girl said, taking a pause to think, "It's Dog."

"Huh?"

"Misaka has chosen a name for the black cat and that name is Dog. He is a cat called Dog," Misaka explained with a blank, lopsided smile.

"Come on, seriously? Can't you think of something better than that?" Kamijou begged, "You know, something a bit more majestic."

"Okay. Tokugawa Ieyasu, Misaka suggests with a straight face." Hearing this suggestion, Kuroko suddenly remembered the story back in Seirin where Hyuga learned to be a clutch shooter by breaking his dolls of toy warriors from the Shogunate era of Japan for every shot he missed in practice. It did work for him but he ended up getting his scary "Clutch Time, Crunch Time" behaviour whenever their team is down in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter. _Too amusing, to be honest._

"Too dignified." Kamijou smiled wearily.

"Then I will call him Schrödinger."

"Quit messing around!" Kamijou suddenly yelled. "That name is a taboo for cats!"

As they continued to walk, Kamijou then said something.

"Oh, I'm just dropping by somewhere on the way home. There's a book I kind of want." The boy with spiky hair explains.

"Are you headed for a bookstore? asks Misaka. Geographically, taking a right at that last intersection would have been the shortest route, says Misaka as she turns around." The imouto refuted.

"No, I don't want a new book. I'm headed to that used bookstore up ahead. Something like how you raise a cat doesn't change. Only 100 yen a book is ideal." Kamijou explains.

"Do you want a book on raising a cat? asks Misaka to make sure."

"It's not so much the book but the knowledge within. You saw those girls in the nun's habit and the shrine maiden outfit, right?" Kamijou didn't like the idea of insulting Index and Himegami but he had no choice. "And Kuroko here says he takes care of dogs, not cats."

In a nick of time, they managed to reach the bookstore. After coercing Kuroko to leave the cat into the hands of the Misaka sister, the two boys then went inside the bookstore, with the tealnette saying that he needed a new book about new and alternative techniques in basic and advance basketball as well as in books about quantum physics and illusion.

In short, Misaka Imouto was now alone on a twilight-colored street of Academy City.

The black cat reacted to the electromagnetic waves emitted by her body and looked up to her with trembling eyes. She thought of lowering the cat to the ground, but it had not yet recognized Kamijou or her as its owner. If she let go of it there, she had a feeling it would simply run away.

Even if it was only a kitten, there was no way for a human to catch up on foot to a cat that was truly trying to flee. The first thing an owner had to do was to feed the cat and give it a place to sleep so the cat would feel secure and not feel the need to run away.

"…And yet he threw it, says Misaka with a sigh." She grumbled, remembering how Kamijou snatched the kitten from Kuroko's arms and threw it into her hands.

At that moment, that's where she spotted something.

Or rather, _someone_.

The boy's hair and skin were dreadfully white. They were white, but they were the opposite of the image of purity white often gave. This white was a very dirty white. That rotten white was accentuated by the fact that his clothes were all black.

And there were his eyes.

Those eyes were red like fresh blood, crimson like burning flames, and scarlet like the depths of hell.

He was amid a distant crowd, but the boy's presence was simply too vivid. The special boy was not doing anything in particular. The exceptional boy really was not doing much of anything.

Yet the mere fact that hellish boy was standing on that peaceful street was abnormal.

In other words, he was Accelerator.

He was the strongest Level 5 in Academy City.

No, probably in the entire world.

He stared at Misaka Imouto and silently smiled.

Misaka Imouto responded by silently lowering the black cat to the ground.

"Operation confirmed. Misakas 10031 and 10032 will proceed with the predetermined course of action," the younger sister said as she began to move.

* * *

"Thanks for waiting for us…" Kamijou greeted as he and the Seirin special player exited the bookstore. Apparently, he got the book that he was finding while Kuroko got his.

Unfortunately, they quickly realized that no one else was there. Misaka's sister had apparently disappeared. The only trace of her was her cat and a loaf of sweet bread she left for him.

"Hey, there…" The Imagine Breaker wielder greeted as he picked the kitten off the ground, "You're still here, so where did she go?"

Cradling the kitten in his arms, Kamijou and Kuroko scanned the street before noticing an alley way just across from the bookstore. Despite the unlikelihood, Kuroko's instincts told him that they should investigate.

Crossing the street, the two boys walked in front of the alley with a bit of skepticism in Kamijou's case. Just then, they suddenly saw a girl's shoe.

 _A girl's shoe?_ Kuroko'e eyes blinked to confirm if he wasn't hallucinating or not.

With that one step, it felt as if the temperature had lowered 2 or 3 degrees. A feeling of having stepped into some unknown place slowly rose from his foot up to their bodies.

A bad feeling crawled up within them like a centipede. There was definitely just one girl's shoe there. It was a small brown loafer that looked like something that would be required by a school. The shoe was clean and had no dirt on it, so it couldn't have been there for long.

The pair of black and blue stared into the alley.

Still, they continued on.

There he found the other shoe lying on the dirty ground of the alley. He continued further on. The bad feeling grew. He tried to keep his pace slow, but his legs continued to accelerate. Kamijou didn't even know why he was hurrying, but his breathing and pulse were picking up pace as if they were falling down a hill.

Then Kamijou realized there were marks like part of the wall had been scraped off. It was as if someone had scraped along the concrete with a metal stake. And it was not just one or two marks. Both walls were covered with those marks like someone had been recklessly swinging a metal rod about.

"It looks like those marks were scratched by something sharp." Kuroko muttered as he squints his eye into one of the marks.

Just then, his companion stepped on something.

It was a metal similar in color to gold or more accurately, copper. It was a metal cylinder about the size of a battery. Kamijou thought it looked like the empty ammunition cartridges he had only ever seen in movies. There was a faint smell of smoke remaining as if someone had shot off a firework.

 _What?!_

Kuroko almost spoke out subconsciously, but he suppressed it. For some reason, the two of them tried to walk silently as he headed further in. With each step, the tealnette felt like the air was getting dirtier.

As they continued on, he saw something lying on the ground further ahead in the darkness. No, it was someone collapsed on the ground. He could see the legs from where he was. He could see two legs, but he could not see the upper half of the body as if it had been eaten by the darkness. Something was scattered around about the legs. It look like it was some synthetic shards and springs. It was almost like the remains of some sort of toy.

"Misaka?"

Kamijou did not know why her name came out first. Neither did Kuroko know.

The two of them headed closer as if they were cutting through the darkness obscuring his view.

And there she was.

Misaka Imouto's corpse was lying on the ground.

In an instant, Kuroko came to the Kamijou's rescue after the boy almost vomited at the sight of the bloodied cadaver.

* * *

"Geez…Academy City sure is a tricky place…"

At that same time, Kiyoshi was busy looking at the map provided to him by the taxi driver that took him to Academy City. While it did had some details such as where he can stay or gave recreation activity, it certainly didn't help him pinpoint to where exactly is Kuroko.

But even then, he didn't give up. Nor did Nogou, who was in his feet, gave up in finding his master.

Originally slated to stay in School District 3 where hotels are available, Kiyoshi opted to move to District 7 after hearing that this is the place where most of the middle and high schools, school dormitories, boarding houses and hospitals are located. _Something tells me Kuroko would be staying here._ He said in his mind as he walks in the street in circles.

While walking, he was simply amazed at the sight of the technology being possessed by the city. "Woah…cleaning robots…windmills…automated machines…this place is really thirty years ahead of ours." Kiyoshi can't help but compliment the whole place as he buys a can of coffee from a vending machine and Nigou braked happily as a sign that he agrees to his words. But as the center kept pondering on what to do next, he unexpectaedly bumped into someone.

"Oh sorry!" The person whom Kiyoshi knocked into was already in the floor as he extends his arms. "Do you need some help?"

"Anou…" Curiously, this little girl in in some strange nun robes and was holing a cat in her arms. "I'm hungry." She said in slightly-accented Japanese.

"Huh?"

"I said…I'm hungry. Please feed me…"

Ten minutes later, Kiyoshi and the silver-haired girl was seen sitting in the table inside of Macronall Hamburger fast food chain as the latter was happily munching into her order of five cheeseburgers and three milkshakes. The Iron Heart wondered why he even allowed himself to treat the greedy girl since at first, he just thought the small child was just asking him to feed his calico cat, which is busy playing with Nigou, ironically.

"Neh, thank you, Tall Guy with a big heart!" The girl in nun robes is all smiles now and eyes sparkling as she greedily gobbles up her third burger. How she eats just reminds Kiyoshi of a certain red head ace in their Seirin team. _To think this petite child can eat the same amounts as Kagami…_

"By the way, who are you, Tall Guy with a big heart?" The silver haired girl asked.

"Ah…Kiyoshi Teppei. Just call me Kiyoshi." The center smiled as he sips his drink.

"I'm Index Librorum Prohibitorum and I'm a nun-in-training of the Church of England!" It sounded gibberish to Kiyoshi, which was understandable. _What? Index is her name? That's…peculiar. And a nun-in-training?_ Kiyoshi seemed that he just heard the most ridiculous joke of the century and prior to that, he thought Izuki's puns were the worst.

"Neh, Teppei…" Index had no qualms using Kiyoshi's given name. "I'm pretty sorry that I have to trouble you with this though I'm really, really hungry! I was just on my way to Komoe's apartment and meet her and Aisa for some food! I'm glad you fed me before I can ask for second servings from them."

"Second servings? But you already ate here…" Kiyoshi was dumbfounded that this little Index, who had a small body, was a more voracious eater than him, who plays basketball and had a larger body frame than Kagami.

"It's not enough!" Index wailed. "Besides, I won't be able to have dinner on time because Touma and Tetsuya haven't come home yet!"

Kuroko was just about to dismiss her rants but hearing what she said, he suddenly stopped sipping his drink.

"Uh…come again?" This time, he is lending all his ears.

"I said Touma and Tetsuya haven't come home yet!" Index wailed more. "I mean, it's harder to track Touma who quickly disappears like a shadow. It's harder to track Tetsuya, who presence really frightens me! He's like a ghost because he had little presence! I wanted to think that they're going to be late because of Tetsuya's so-called basketball practice but this—"

She was suddenly cut off by an alarmed Kiyoshi, who stood up and quickly leans on her.

"Index, can you tell me what this Tetsuya looks like!" Kiyoshi wanted to be sure although he had seen too many clues now.

"Eh? Tetsuya is like that boy with a pale face and that baby blue hair." Index began to narrate though she was oblivious of Kiyoshi's alarmed facial expression. "But he's a hero! He helped Touma in saving me from a rogue magician some thirteen nights ago…"

"Thirteen nights ago?" Kiyoshi patiently calculated that time of the nights plus the past days with his hand. And when he did, it was when things began to click. "Dammit! I now understand why!"

He said in a way that somehow frightened Index.

"Eh, what do you mean, Teppei?" The nun asked.

"Let me ask you something…do you know what Ars Magna is?" Kiyoshi asked in an urgent way.

"Huh?! How did you know that?! Are you some kind of a magician?!" Index shrieked.

"No but…" Kiyoshi stopped to think his next actions. _So I was right after all. That same night thirteen nights ago, Kuroko phoned us about these archaic terms relating to alchemy or power source or something. Hearing it now confirms two things: that this thing called magic might be real and somehow, Kuroko got himself involved into it._

"Hey, you look like you are thinking something…" Index noticed Kiyoshi's strange behaviour.

"Neh, Index, do you have some time?"

It might not be right to say that he can now relax but at least, Kiyoshi now got a lead about Kuroko's whereabouts thanks to his accidental meeting with a certain magical Index.

* * *

 _ **Sneak peak for the next chapter!**_

 **After seeing the dismembered body parts of Misaka 10031, Kuroko and Kamijou immediately went to see Misaka in her Tokiwadai dormitory in hopes of interrogating her. Unknown to the tealnette, Shirai was also there and she was likewise surprised to see them. While the Level 4 teleporter tried to fend off their Dorm Supervisor, the tealnette happened to have found a document that contains the Level 6 Shift experiment, which greatly shocks him to no end. He shows it to Kamijou, who was likewise stunned. After that, Kamijou had to go first since Kuroko wasn't adept yet in jumping outside the window although they promised to meet in a rendezvous location. Such misfortune, indeed.**

 **Meanwhile, Kiyoshi, together with Index, meets Komoe and surprisingly, Himegami and Fukiyose, who is just an innocent bystander to what is happening around her. After nearly breaking the door of the teacher, Kiyoshi knew that he had to act now to find Kuroko. Fukiyose Seiri, though, wasn't amused as she was being left out of the loop and on top of that, she became a caretaker for Nigou, whom Kiyoshi temporarily left in the Forehead Deluxe's care.**

 **See you in the next chapter!**


	8. One Way

Dinner at that starry and peaceful night was yakiniku and some juice and liquor.

Komoe Tsukuyomi stood in the kitchen looking at a Luxurious Yakiniku Set she had bought on a special sale at the supermarket for Y12000. She had bought it partially because she had more people to feed dinner to and partially because it was a rank up from the Y8000 Wonderful Yakiniku Set she had bought previously.

It was not that unusual for Komoe to be serving multiple people for dinner. She was an educator to the core, so she had a habit of taking in people, especially teenagers, who had run away from home and giving them a place to stay until they finally knew what they planned to do.

"Ah…dinner time today is the best moment…"

As the meat is being heated, Komoe pulled multiple cans of beer from the fridge in order to compare their flavor before she can settle for what she would drink for the night.

Although the Japanese meat dish had no particular ripe season to be consumed, the pinkette teacher who looked 12 but could taste the differences between beers always ate yakiniku in the summertime. She had also decided to leave the cooking of the meat to the person staying with her who was paying zero rent. Her role that night was just to drink beer and eat meat so she was feeling rather like royalty.

Meanwhile, her temporary roommate, Himegami Aisa, who decided to stay in the teacher's apartment while she had no permanent dormitory, had just finished setting up the iron griddle on the tea table in the center of the room and she sat in the lotus position in order to kill the materialistic desire that goes by the name of hunger and starvation. The lotus position may sound flamboyant but she was really just sitting cross legged and wondering how long she had to wait to eat.

To Komoe's defense, she was the type of person that seasoned the meat before cooking it.

Of course, cooking meat with using coal and fire on it filled the room with the smell of smoke but she did not mind. For some reason, the room already had strange scribbles drawn all over the tatami mats and the walls, which had the tatami sliced up by something like a sword, had blood stains left all over the place. It also had burn marks on the walls, and finally had its walls and ceiling destroyed by what seemed like a beam weapon. It had been patched up with plywood, but she could pretty much kiss good bye to her security deposit.

"Sheesh. I'll just have to ask Kamijou-chan about what happened." Komoe sighed. "Oh, how is he and Kuroko-chan doing so far?"

The teacher huffed but she brought a large plate of meat over to the tea table to get her spirits up.

"Okay, now heat up the iron griddle." Komoe ordered the Miko girl. "You lost the game of rock-paper-scissors, Himegami-chan, so you need to take those saibashi and begin your forced labor. Now cook up some yakiniku for me!"

"Okay. But first I will tell you a scary story from Academy City." Himegami deadpanned which reminded the teacher of a certain tealnette student of hers.

"I am not the type to cry when told about the seven mysteries of Academy City." Komoe grimaced. "In fact, I have the disgrace of often being considered to be one of them."

The persisting urban legends in Academy City were not the more occult type involving ghosts or wandering spirits from the spirit world. They tended to be more along the lines of hidden bits of ridiculous science like UFOs.

A lot of the urban legends in Academy City had to do with the Imaginary Number District—Five Elements Institution also known as Primary Knowledge.

For example, there was the urban legend that Academy City started as a single laboratory. It said that the laboratory extended to include the company houses for the personnel, health facilities, and related laboratories until it reached the point of being a giant city. However, no one knew where this supposed "first laboratory" was in the city.

There were of course plenty of rumors regarding that first laboratory. Some said it had been destroyed decades ago without anyone knowing what it was. Some said it was hidden deep underground. Some said it was seen every day but no one realized it because it had been disguised as an ordinary-looking school. Some said that a special power or imaginary technology had been used to warp space around it in order to hide it.

Although there were hundred variations of the rumors, these seven mysteries are the ones who stood out the most in the city of science and technology.

Despite the supposed existence, no one had actually "noticed" them.

The Imaginary Number District—Five Elements Institution was said to be the district that did not fit any of the numbers for the 23 districts of Academy City and many different rumors of imaginary technology had been derived from this invisible laboratory known as the Imaginary Number District.

There was the supposed Artificial Intelligence that controlled all of the ethics, militaries, and economies of the world via the internet.

There was the supposed Clone "Dolly" workshop that stored the DNA of great men and saints from around the world and had analyzed their genetics to the point that they could create as many geniuses as needed at the push of a button.

There was the idea that the Silicorandom synapses used in Tree Diagram's processing engine could only be made with imaginary technology from the Imaginary Number District and thus could not be remade.

There was the supposed Hound Dog unit that was secretly working to search for the Imaginary Number District and would abduct anyone who got close to solving the mystery in order to torture them for information.

Komoe sighed as she held a beer in one hand while relaxing in her seat.

Across the tea table from where the minute teacher is seated was Himegami who was waving both her hands around.

As the teacher and the Miko girl were conversing with each other, the doorbell rang.

"Mh. It looks like I have a guest." Komoe raised her eyebrows. "It's probably just a circular notice, so go politely deal with it, Himegami-chan. As you do, sensei will be here cooking and eating the meat."

Himegami silently stood up while looking at Komoe who was clearly in a bad mood from the stories they were sharing. She headed for the door, but then suddenly spun around.

"That beer can is made of aluminum which is a toxic metal. If you drink a lot, the toxin will build up within your body. That is one of the reasons that the Roman Empire collapsed. They used too much metal tableware. Heh…heh…"

Komoe-sensei completely lost her appetite and she looked like she was about to cry.

"Also…"

"There's more?"

"I am in charge of cooking the meat today. You only need to eat the meat, Komoe-sensei."

 _Knock knock!_

It seemed that whoever was waiting in front of the front door was an impatient man and from the sound of the banging, it looked like that the person began to kick the door wildly. Himegami hurried up and bent over to look at the peephole. All that she saw was pure white. _Huh?_

In Academy City, newspaper solicitors in the area were rather extreme so in the worst case, there was no choice but to open the door just a bit with the chain lock still connected and take the "magic wand" known as an electronic gas gun from next to the door to stick it through the gap and respond with a full auto blast.

Himegami grabbed the gas gun just to be safe and slowly opened the door to see if someone was playing a prank. As the door opened, it made a noise like it had struck something and stopped.

The Deep Blood gemstone looked down to see if someone had left a block on the ground.

A pure white nun was collapsed there. The door had struck her head. A calico cat was balled up next to her happily waving its tail around.

"I'm hung—"

Himegami simply shut the door as the white nun tried to say something. But in doing so, she failed to notice the _other_ person who was with the collapsed nun with the cat.

"Huh? Who was it?" asked Komoe, who was cooking the meat.

"Nothing was there…" Himegami replied with complete calm.

However, before Himegami can move further away from the door, the _other person_ began to punch the door with more force. As she had no choice, Himegami opened the door again. This time, she opened the door fully and in doing so, she found herself face-to-face with a tall man whose height she was reminded of Aureolus Izzard. _T-Tall!_ Himegami then glanced at the door and was stunned to see the shape of the fists perfectly carved in the steel-reinforced door. _Is he that physically strong?!_

But before the man with chestnut hair, someone who seemed to have heard the knocking suddenly came to their apartment.

"Hey, what is going on here?!"

Himegami and the tall man turned their heads towards a teen, who seemed to be around their age.

"Uhm…who are you and what's with your large forehead?" The Miko girl asked the female teen.

* * *

The sky had completely turned to the blue of night as the stars began to powder the whole atmosphere of the globe.

"I wonder how Index is doing at this moment…"

"She'll be fine…right?"

As they were seating in the back of a bus, Kamijou and Kuroko were calmly conversing with one another as the former suddenly remembered the silver-haired nun who was (supposed to be) waiting for the two of them to get home before they can eat dinner together.

"Oh yeah, you probably didn't know since you're just new here." Kamijou sighed as he holds the black cat that was supposed to belong to one of the Misaka clones. "I can't exactly expect her to have the skills to cook, so she might be rolling around the ground out of hunger right now."

"Then call her." Kuroko suggested as he holds his duffel bag tightly.

"I was thinking of doing that but remembering how she got involved, and by extension, you got involved, in the battle at the Misawa Cram School, I decided against it." Kamijou explained.

"Oh…"

The two then stopped thinking about Index and focused on the task at hand.

Both of them were heading for the Tokiwadai Middle School student dormitory in order to find Misaka Mikoto.

The bus stops in Academy City often used the names of school facilities such as "District 12 Takasaki University" or "District 22 Shizuna High School Pool". That was not too surprising as all the busses in Academy City were school busses.

Luckily, there was a bus stop called "District 7 Tokiwadai Middle School Dormitory". Normally, all of the busses would have stopped running by that time, but that line had special buses that ran at night for students that went to cram schools or summer courses. It was one of the many perks of a private school.

After a while, the intercom announced. "Next Stop, Seventh School Dictrict—Tokiwadai Middle School Student Dormitory."

"I think we're close to where Misaka-san and Kuroko-san is staying." The tealnette said.

After a few more minutes, the bus stopped and the two alighted from the vehicle.

"So this is the place…"

Kuroko and Kamijou got off the public transportation and looked up at the building. Normal concrete buildings were lined up around it, but that three-story building alone was made of stone. The Western-looking building was just stuck in the middle of everything else and it had an odd sense of history to it like a foreign dormitory had been moved from its original country and placed there. It had no garden or lawn to speak off. Just like the other buildings, it was standing right next to the sidewalk.

 _I wonder if their quality of education actually surpasses Teiko._ Kuroko thought as they both began to walk.

The two males headed for the main entrance, but it was locked up more tightly than he had expected. At first glance it appeared to be double doors made of wood, but it was probably actually made of a special carbon fiber material. It probably wouldn't even budge if a main battle tank slammed into it.

The door knob seemed to be a sensor and he could see a red light inside the keyhole that was made to look old. Kuroko guessed offhand that it detected one's fingerprint, checked one's bodily electricity and pulse pattern from one's skin, and maybe even checked one's DNA code from the oil on one's fingers. _Very advanced. I'm pretty sure coach and captain would be very much curious to use these things._

They then checked a number of mailboxes that were lined up next to the door. They were not much different from the newspaper box for a nice apartment. From the names on the mailboxes, Misaka seemed to be in Room 208.

With no options left, Kamijou was forced to use the intercom. Just like at a nice apartment building, it was set up so calculator-like buttons could be used to punch in the number of the room and it would connect directly to that room.

At a first glance, contacting Mikoto's room would be easy enough. He just had to enter 208 into the intercom and presto. The two of them would be able to get the answers that they are finding.

But for some reasons, Kamijou hesitated to do so.

"What's wrong, Kamijou-kun?" Kuroko asked in genuine concern. "You just have to press the buttons there."

"It's not that." The spiky haired boy replied. "It's just that…it was almost impossible that Misaka had nothing to do with that experiment that we heard from those Misakas. Think about it, her cells would be needed to create those cellular clones."

Kuroko blinked but inwardly realized that his friend had a point.

 _What are we supposed to say to her, then?_

Kamijou was simply afraid to hear from Mikoto herself about that repulsive experiment that had no problem killing people. He was afraid to see Mikoto's face as she spoke of that hidden truth.

The cat then meowed uneasily.

Kuroko then recalled the face of Misaka Mikoto, the one he had met on the bending machine and who is certainly not shy or indecisive unlike a certain redhead ace of Seirin.

 _Had that been an act in order to hide that truth? Or was she actually so messed up that she could be cooperating with that repulsive experiment and knew the Sisters were dying but was still able to smile like that?_

Either way that was not the image of Misaka Mikoto that neither Kamijou Touma nor Kuroko Tetsuya had built up in their heads.

Kamijou's finger trembled as he thought about pressing the buttons regardless. Once he pressed those buttons, there was simply no turning back. He couldn't erase the fact he had pressed them. Afterwards, the experiment Kamijou didn't know about would surely come avalanching down on the two of them like a roller coaster that had made it up to the top of the first hill.

Kamijou didn't know what to do.

Neither that the tealnette knows.

He still did not know what the best option was when he pressed the buttons for the intercom.

He heard the slight click of the plastic buttons being pressed.

With a bit of static over the speaker, an entrance to a world of the abnormal opened.

" _Yes?_ "

The occupants from room 208 had replied.

"Oh, um…"

He did not know what to say.

Yet he had to say something.

"Misaka? This is Kamijou."

" _Ahh…Kamijou-san, you say?_ "

"Oh, crap. Did I get the wrong room number?"

" _No, no, you didn't. Do you have business with onee-sama? I am her roommate._ "

"Ah…I see…"

" _Yes, indeed….hehehe…_ "

"That's strange…" Kamijou then said. "Where did I heard this voice before?"

"Kamijou-san, that voice…" Kuroko shook his head as he sighed. "Belongs to none other than my cousin…"

"Oh…heh?!" Kamijou was stunned as he heard Kuroko's reply but before he can react further, the girl on the other line then began to speak.

" _That's funny, I've heard your voice somewhere before…_ " The somewhat cute voice said before it suddenly began to rage. " _Ahhhhhh! You! You're the guy that went on a secret date with onee-sama yesterday, you ape! What do you need from her?!_ "

But before Kamijou can reply, Kuroko cut him off. "Kamijou-kun, please let me take over." Earning a nod from the boy, Kuroko then walked calmly towards the intercom and began to speak. "Anou…Kuroko-san, this is your cousin, Kuroko Tetsuya…"

" _Te-Tetsnu-nii?!_ " The speaker from the other line trembled as she heard the tealnette. "We need to speak to your Misaka-san. It's something important. Is she around?"

" _Well, onee-sama hasn't returned yet._ " The girl replied. " _But if you and that ape really needed to see her, then I recommend that both of you come in and wait for her._ " The line then went dead.

Needless to say, the two of them needed to talk to the Electromaster so they both took up the offer.

They passed through the main entrance to find a giant hall. The interior looked like a place nobles would live in. The walls and ceiling were mostly white and a red carpet covered the floor. He thought it might just have been nouveau riche tastes, but he also had a feeling that an intruder would greatly stand out with that coloration.

Kuroko wasn't exactly sure if the residents were merely well-behaved or if the building had good soundproofing but the area was wrapped in a calm silence like a shrine or a temple. One thing's for sure.

 _Kagami-kun won't last in a place like this._

The two ignored the corridors stretching off to the left and right of the entrance hall and headed for the staircase in the center of the hall that led to the second and third floors. According the mailboxes, Misaka's and Shirai's quarters was Room 208. Kuroko had correctly guessed that it was somewhere on the second floor.

Both of them then climbed the stairs and walked down the second floor passageway on the left.

They both found Room 208 almost right away. The number was displayed on the wooden door in gold numbering. The cat stared at its reflection in the polished door and Kuroko felt it was like the door to a hotel room. However, there was not an intercom on the door inside like in a hotel.

The tealnette lightly knocked on the door and a voice from the inside responded.

"Come in. The door isn't locked so you can open it yourself."

He opened the door and the inside was like that of a hotel room as well. There was a door to what was likely a unit bathroom immediately inside and there were two beds, a side table, and a small refrigerator further in. There was nothing like a closet, so it seemed all personal items were kept in the giant suitcases next to the beds. _These amenities are lacking in my own dormitory room._

Despite being in her room, Shirai Kuroko still had her hair up in pigtails. She was still wearing summer clothes, so she looked a tad unnatural sitting on the bed.

Kamijou and Kuroko looked around the room again. Even if Misaka's roommate had given him permission to enter, he still felt awkward being in a girl's room when she wasn't there. Seeing how both of them were acting, Shirai Kuroko laughed a bit.

"Sorry, Tetsu-nii, Kamijou-san. This room is really only to sleep in, so it is not really made to entertain guests. Please just sit on the other bed while you wait for onee-sama."

"That's kind of rude." Kamijou interjected. "No, I can't sit on her bed without permission."

"Do not worry. That is my bed."

"Then what the hell are you doing rolling around on someone else's bed!? Are you some kind of pervert!?"

"Calling me a pervert is hard to ignore..." Shirai then stood up from the bed and began to rant as she sat up straight. "There are things that people consider 'this should be acceptable' inside their hearts. You know, like playing the recorder that belongs to the girl you like or stealing the person's bike saddle."

"I don't think Kamijou-kun is capable of doing such things, Kuroko-san." Kuroko stepped in to defend the embattled Kamijou.

"Tetsu-nii!" Shirai leaped from her bed to hug her cousin, who didn't mind the show of affection.

"Where's Misaka-san, by the way?" Kuroko asked as he had to put down his cousin.

"Ah…onee-sama isn't back as you can see…" Shirai sighed as she plopped herself again into the bed of her. "Besides, what business do you have with her?"

"Uh…" Now, Kuroko was somehow put in a tough spot as he tried to make up an excuse. He didn't want to make the Level Four Teleporter worried. "Actually…no…we're no here for some business. We're just here to see if she's actually doing fine." This must be the first time that Kuroko stuttered as for the first time in his life, he felt himself trembling. After all, he had just witnessed the most gruesome murder just hours ago.

"Tetsu-nii…" Now, Shirai narrowed her eyes as she looks straight into the blue orbs of her cousin, who remained composed. "I know you as much as you know me. Please, tell me what is wrong."

"I…uh…"

"Wow, Kuroko and Shirai…I never expected that you had this kind of relationship." _Thanks, Kamijou-san._ Kuroko inwardly thanked the spiky haired boy decided to open his mouth at this point.

"Stay out of family matters, you troglodyte!" Shirai angrily yelled as she rudely spat as Kamijou, who merely watches her. But before the latter can even move a muscle, they all suddenly heard random footsteps suddenly creeping up towards the room they were all staying in.

"Is Misaka-san back?" Kuroko asked as he turned his back.

"Those footsteps…" Shirai listened for an instant and then jumped up from the bed. "Oh, no. That sounds like the dorm supervisor making her rounds!"

"Heh?"

"What should we do? If she finds out that a gentleman is inside a room of Tokiwadai's girls' dormitory...we should hide you two for a while!"

"Huh?" Kamijou said dumbly. "Why?"

"She is dangerous enough that you need to be able to tell it's her just from her footsteps." Shirai explained quickly. "Anyway, she is an evil existence that checks on people's rooms without warning so I need to...heh?! Tetsu-nii?!"

Unbeknownst to her, Kuroko had already crept under the bed of Misaka the moment he understood Shirai's explanation. After a few more insanities, Shirai was forced to finally push down the spiky haired boy under her own bed as she realized her power doesn't work on her.

 _I regret doing this._ Kuroko inwardly cringed as he heard the door suddenly swung open violently.

Not only was the area under the bed cramped but something was already there. Kuroko was being pushed into a large stuffed bear that was about as tall as he was. _Why does Misaka-san keep a stuff toy under her bed? Is she a bit ashamed of it?_

Just as the Seirin passing specialist was considering pushing the bear out of the way, he heard the door open without even a single knock. He heard a low female voice.

"Shirai, it's time for dinner! Gather in the cafeteria. Where is Misaka?" Apparently, it really was the dorm supervisor.

"Onee-sama's at make-up lessons." Shirai made the lie. "Maybe it's taking a bit longer."

 _Kuroko-san, can you at least make it believable._ Kuroko had his own moments with Kagami to find that his cousin's voice isn't making her excuse convincing at all.

"I have received no notification of her being away and roommates are responsible too when someone breaks curfew, so I hope you do not mind receiving a demerit." _Scary._ Was the only thing that came to Kuroko's mind.

It seemed the dorm supervisor pushed Shirai out of the room. Kuroko waited tensely under the bed for a bit. He could not tell what was going on while under the bed and it would not be too surprising if the dorm supervisor came back so he couldn't just casually crawl out from under the bed.

He won't even be surprised if he ends up getting into a headlock with the dorm supervisor.

Kuroko sighed sighed and then looked over at the stuffed bear under the bed with him.

At first he thought it seemed fancier than he would have thought Misaka would like, but when he looked closer, he saw one of its eyes was covered with an eyepatch, it had bandages wrapped around its entire body, and it had stitches like with Frankenstein.

It was more funky than fancy, frankly speaking.

When he thought he was safe, he was about to crawl outside but in doing so, his eyes caught attention of a certain thing with the teddy bear. "Huh?" Kuroko's blue eyes widened the moment he saw what looked like a zipper just under the neck of the bear. "And it had an opening to it." The way it was put there, it looked unique.

Or more likely, it was stitched so that Misaka can stuff into that opening the thing that she wanted others to see the least.

Kuroko's not the type of person to pry on other people's objects but the zipper was still half-open. It seemed there was paper inside. The corner of a piece of paper was sticking out of the half open zipper. There was nothing else to it. Kuroko felt that he could easily ignore it and leave it as it is.

 _It just wasn't right to dig down into other's secrets, right?_

It wasn't right but the paper had the following written in typed lettering.

 _Test Number 07-15-2005071112-A. Using the Radio Noise Sisters to Shift the Level 5 Accelerator to…_

Kuroko was in a state of surprise. Only the corner of the paper was sticking out from the zipper, so he could not read the rest. He closed his eyes. Most likely, there would be no going back once he read that.

At this moment, this was his last chance to ignore everything and just return to training his improved basketball.

But with his recent discovery of magic, his brief bout with Aureolus Izzard, his witness the Ars Magna's power and his observations of the "Sisters," can his conscience even let him do that?

Kuroko thought for an instant and then opened his eyes.

If he could just pretend he had not seen that, he would not have been there in the first place.

 _My real intention being in Academy City is to prepare for a possible rematch against Aomine-kun_. _But here I am…_

It looked like Fate simply had additional plans for him.

To get the paper out, he would have to completely open the half-open zipper. However, the thick collar with the padlock was in the way. Normally, that would have been a major problem, but this was a stuffed animal. Kuroko merely tightly squeezed the stuffed bear's neck. The soft stuffing easily changed shape and a space opened up between the collar and the bear. Kuroko stuck his fingers in that space and opened the zipper.

He found a report of almost 20 pages inside. From the date and file name written on the edges of the paper it seemed to be a printout of a file.

USING THE RADIO NOISE SISTERS TO SHIFT THE LEVEL 5 ACCELERATOR TO LEVEL 6.

That was the name of the name of the report.

 _Level Six?_

Kuroko was simply confused. _Isn't Level Five already the highest level an Esper can attain?_

He crawled out from under the bed and started looking over the report.

The report never once mentioned the names of the laboratories or people involved. It was as if it had been made so no real evidence would remain even if the report were leaked out by some mistake.

 _Sly._

The report was very technically written so there were a lot of words that were not in Japanese. Kuroko used his stock knowledge from Teiko's English educations and physics class as well as what he learned in his summer class to its fullest in order to somehow transform it into something he could understand.

"Academy City has seven Level 5s. However, the predictive calculations of Tree Diagram have established that there is a single one of them who is capable of reaching the as yet unseen Level 6. The other Level 5s are either growing in a different direction or their bodily balance would be lost by an increase in dosage."

There was a list of 7 esper names with various types of graphs, but Kamijou skipped past them.

"The sole person who is able to reach Level 6 is known as Accelerator."

Accelerator.

Kuroko frowned at that unfamiliar word.

There was a supplementary explanation in a foreign language, but Kuroko skipped past it as he could not read it. It simply wasn't part of the foreign language classes he had taken in the past.

"Accelerator is in reality Academy City's strongest Level 5. According to Tree Diagram's calculations, he would reach Level 6 after 250 years of undergoing the regular Curriculum."

 _250 years….the hell?!_

As reference data, it stated that a few ways of having a person remain active for 250 years were given in a different report.

"We searched for a method that does not require using those 250 year methods. As a result, Tree Diagram led us to a different method than the usual Curriculum. It is based on the fact that use of powers in actual battle quickens the growth process. There have been many reports of those with Telekinesis or Pyrokinesis gaining increased accuracy, so we are going to take advantage of this. By preparing special battlefields and having the battles proceed according to specific scenarios, we can control the direction of the growth gained in the battles."

Kuroko's hand almost let go of the papers as he felt like vomiting again.

 _Battle…_

He felt like that word clicked together with the corpse of the Sister lying in that back alley.

"According to the calculations carried out by Tree Diagram's simulator, it was determined that preparing 128 types of battlefields and having him kill Railgun 128 times would allow Accelerator to shift to Level 6."

Kuroko recognized the word Railgun. "Railgun, that's Misaka-san, right?"

But more importantly, there was one word that sent Kuroko's spine shivering at its finest.

 _Kill._

Kuroko's hands started to shake. His breathing grew erratic and he leaned up against the wall because he felt like the floor was shaking.

"However, we cannot of course prepare 128 Railguns as she is also a Level 5. That is when our attention turned to the Sisters project meant to mass produce Level 5s that we had been carrying out at the same time."

His heart was beating oddly. He could tell that his body temperature had left his fingertips.

"Of course, there is a difference in specs between the original Railgun and the mass produced Sisters. The power of the mass produced model is largely estimated to be around Level 3." The printed report continued.

 _There was something definitely wrong with what is written here._ Kuroko thought as for the first time in his life, he was thinking about something else other than basketball, Aomine, Kagami, Seirin, or the Generation of Miracles and Teiko Middle School.

"According to Tree Diagram's recalculation based on those criteria, it was determined that preparing 20,000 battlefields and 20,000 Sisters would produce the same result as described above…" He read it aloud.

However, they were going ahead and doing things that were wrong based on that wrongness.

"The 20,000 types of battlefields and battle scenarios are explained in a different report."

Kuroko briefly wondered what was written in that other report but decided that wasn't the concern.

The more alarming issue would be the twenty thousand ways of dying.

By going down the list of the Sisters' numbers, Kuroko could see when, where, and how they would all die. It was simply too repulsive. What the Phantom Sixth Man found most repulsive was not the ones carrying out the killing. It was the fact that the ones being killed were continuing to follow through with the scenario.

 _It is impossible for Misaka to raise this cat, honestly replies Misaka. Misaka lives in an environment that is slightly different from yours, says Misaka giving a reason_.

What was Misaka 10032 been thinking then?

What had she been thinking as she looked at the cat and what had she been feeling when she gave it to the two of them?

"The method of creating the Sisters was carried out the same as in the original project. A zygote is prepared from the cells taken from Railgun's hair and growth is accelerated by administering Zid-02, Riz-13, and Hel-03…"

She was in such a miserable situation.

 _What had that girl been thinking that lead to her not asking for help?_

"As a result, they obtain physically 14-year-old bodies the same as Railgun in about 14 days. As the clones were created from the already deteriorating cells and had their growth accelerated with drugs, it is highly likely that they will have shorter lifespans than Railgun. However, it is estimated to not be extreme enough to affect their specs during the experiment."

 _Had she been in despair?_

 _Had she been in despair because she had determined that she could not be saved no matter what she chose or how things proceeded?_

"The real problem does not lie in the hardware of their bodies. It lies in the software of their personalities. The basic information in the brain such as language, motion, and ethics take form from the ages of 0-6. However, the Sisters only have 144 hours for that due to their abnormal growth rate. It is difficult to teach them by standard methods. As such, we have used Testaments to install all of that basic information."

 _Or rather…Had she believed that her dying at someone else's hands was part of everyday life?_

 _Had she not been in despair, not given up, and merely believed that was the normal environment for her?_

"The first 9802 experiments will be performed inside, but the remaining 10198 experiments must be performed outdoors due to the requirements for the battlefield. Due to issues regarding the disposal of bodies, we have narrowed the battlefields down to a single district of Academy City…"

"Now way…" Kuroko muttered in a low but intense voice as suddenly, he crushes the reports in his own bare hands. "No way…"

"Oi, Kuroko! You should have at least called me when you got out of the—hey..uhm…Kuroko?"

Kuroko can only turn his head towards stunned Kamijou Touma as all of the sudden, his stomach began to churn again. Prior to that, he had always believed that Meiko's 111 – 11 beating at the hands of Teiko and their lopsided loss against Touou was the worst thing to happen. But this…

"Kamijou-kun…" Kuroko's blue orbs suddenly grew wide in shock and a trauma-like experience as he hands the papers to the spiky haired boy. "I think we need to find Misaka-san, as in really fast…"

"Huh…why…" Kamijou asked dumbly as he got hold of the documents. But the moment he read it, he can only become quiet as like Kuroko, he too was very much astonished the find this report. Before he knew it, he can only curse. "Damn it…damn it…"

Kamijou couldn't stand it. He gritted his teeth. No matter how hard you searched for a reason why it was okay to kill 20,000 people for a single high-ranking esper, you would never find it. .

The reality before his eyes was so cruel that he wouldn't have been able to stand it even if it had been fiction.

"Damn them!"

A certain girl had been created just so she could be killed.

She was a mass of flesh that had been born by taking a nucleus from someone's cell and implanting it in an unharmed ovum which was then mixed together with a few chemicals in a test tube. That girl who looked 14 had spent her entire life imprisoned in a cold laboratory where she was referred to by a number instead of a name.

But so what of it?

Even if Misaka Imouto had only been created to be killed, even if she had been created from the nucleus of someone's cell being implanted in an ovum, and even if she had always lived in a cold laboratory referred to by a number instead of a name…

She was still the person who had reached out to pick up the drinks Kamijou had dropped.

She was still the person who had gotten the fleas off of the calico cat.

It hadn't appeared on her face, but Misaka Imouto had seemed somehow happy with the black cat.

Those things may not have seemed too special for ordinary people. To normal people, those things meant nothing. They did them without really thinking about it and they looked like nothing other than that. In fact, they're just a part of human reactions.

However, that also meant that Misaka Imouto was a human who could do normal things like normal people.

She was not something that could be referred to as an experimental animal.

"Huh?"

Kamijou then noticed something else.

The report was a printout of a file. At the top left of the copy paper, the date and file name were written. There were two barcodes along with those things. They were like the barcodes on the back of a book and there was one right above another.

"What the…"

Academy City had various types of network terminals and they all had different security ranks. For instance, a cell phone was Rank D, a computer in a library or at home was Rank C, the information terminals that teachers used were Rank B, the specialized terminals in research facilities were Rank A, and the secret terminals used by the board of directors were Rank S.

They connected to the same network, but a Rank D terminal could not access Rank C information.

This did not create a kind of ruling class or anything. It was simply that the ones managing the network did not want students to be able to access data on final exams or health examinations.

"Wait a minute, Kamijou-kun…" Kuroko recovered swiftly from his traumatic experience to see the files. "Those barcodes are…"

Kamijou looked at the barcodes at the top left of the report. He was pretty sure that the top barcode was the terminal ID and the lower barcode was the data ID. Similar to the barcodes on a box of sweets, it was a bunch of black and white stripes with numbers lined up below.

The top one, the terminal ID, was 415872-C.

The bottom one, the data ID, was 385671-A.

"That's odd…" Kamijou muttered.

The terminal rank was C, but the data rank was A. That should have been impossible. If Mikoto had obtained that report via a proper route, she could have just used a Rank A terminal in the laboratory.

That meant she had not obtained the information via a proper route.

"Which means Misaka-san might not have been cooperating with the experiment…" Kuroko whispered as he tried to process the information in his brain.

Kamijou then flipped the paper and was surprised to see another file. It felt thicker than the other papers so he pulled it out.

It was a map.

The map displayed all of Academy City. It was folded up, but when spread out it was as big as a bookshelf. It had been stuffed in the middle of the report and was made of extremely thin paper, so Kamijou had not noticed it until then.

The map included the location of the back alleys and buildings making it rather detailed. And there were X's written in red marker in various places on the map.

"Huh?"

As Kamijou was staring at the map, Kuroko pulled out his cell phone. It had GPS functionality just like a car navigation device. The tealnette looked at the X's on the map and looked up their coordinates on his cell phone. When he magnified it, the name of the buildings came up on the map displayed on his cell phone.

"Kanasaki University Muscular Dystrophy Research Institution."

 _Muscular Dystrophy?_

Kuroko was somewhat bewildered.

Midorima had once told him during a class tutoring back at Teiko that muscular dystrophy was a type of incurable disease. Simply put, it was a disease that left you unable to send signals to your muscles and the muscles grew weaker and weaker as they could not be moved.

 _But what connection did a muscular dystrophy research institution have to do with that report?_

Still confused, Kuroko checked the names of the other buildings with X's on them.

"Mizuho Organization Pathology Research Institute."

"Higuchi Pharmaceutical Seventh Pharmaceutics Research Center."

Being a summer class student here, Kuroko was not very familiar with the names of laboratories but he then remembered something else. He recalled the news scrolling by on the blimp's exhibition display. It had said that 3 research institutions had been evacuated over a two week period. The cat mewed in dissatisfaction. What was it Misaka had said upon seeing that news?

 _I hate those blimps…_

Kamijou's breath caught in his throat. There was the map stuck in the middle of the report, the X's in red marker, and the laboratories all looking into the same disease. If you put together the report, the experiment, and the map, it seemed like it showed the laboratories that were working on that experiment. However, what did the word "evacuate" mean? And what did the red X's on the map mean?

Kuroko felt dizzy. He did not know why. However, he suddenly had a single question in his mind.

 _It was fairly late at night, so why had Misaka Mikoto not returned to her dorm yet?_

 _Where was she and what was she doing?_

It might have been nothing. However, something seemed ominous. The laboratories had been evacuated and there were red X's on that map as if following them. It was almost as if the buildings had been crushed from the map by those X's. And the marks were not black, they were not blue, they were not circles, and they were not squares. They were red X's.

 _What did that mean?_

Both of the boys had determined that the report had not been obtained via a proper route.

Due to that, Kuroko had somehow guessed that Mikoto may not be cooperating with the experiment.

What if Mikoto had refused to cooperate with the researchers?

What if the experiment had continued anyway against her will and she later found out?

What action would she take then?

And if she were taking action to stop the experiment…

"I think I know what Misaka will do…" Kamijou said in a bitter voice. "Kuroko, being you, I think you already know it too."

"Yes." Was the only curt reply of the tealnette but it somehow showed strong displeasure to it.

"Can you jump in the window?" Kamijou asked. "I had a place in mind where she could be right now."

"Kamijou-kun, you do know that I don't have that kind of physicality." Kuroko sighed. "But you should go first then. I'll catch up."

"Are you sure? You don't have to involve yourself in it anymore."

"It's fine, Kamijou-kun." Kuroko said while mustering his courage. "After all, I'm already deeply involved ever since I had that first taste of magic against Aureolus-san."

With that, Kamijou grabbed the reports and the cat by the scruff of its neck and burst out of the window. Meanwhile, Kuroko activated his lack of presence as he silently gets out of the room. But to his own brand of misfortune…

"Tetsu-nii!"

"Eh…Kuroko-san…" Kuroko groaned as he realized that his cousin was one of the few who can see through his presence.

"It looks like you are in a hurry to leave, Kuroko-san." Shirai heaved a sigh as she was able to keep out their dorm supervisor. Don't you want to stay a bit longer? It's been while since we had hand out and onee-sama…"

"I'm sorry, Kuroko-san…" Kuroko apologized as he knew that terrible it may sound, he knew he had to lie at this point to keep his cousin from getting involved in this terrible mess. "But I had to go and do something else…" Before Shirai can even react, Kuroko ran from her location and quickly he dashed past the doors of the dormitory.

Bewildered by his cousin's strange behavior, Shirai can only sigh as she returned to her room, only to find that the window was left open.

"Heh?"

Outside of the streets, Kuroko was running as he tried to keep up with Kamijou, who had a head start. _Think, Kuroko. Where would I go at this…_

Suddenly, he felt his phone suddenly buzz as Kuroko had to stop at a nearby street lamp. Groaning at the timing of the call, he then answered it immediately and he was surprised to hear who it was.

"Huh? Midorima-kun?" The tealnette can't help but show his astonishment at the fact that the green-haired ace of Shutoku just called him, which is a rare occurrence given that the two didn't get along that well in their middle school years.

" _Not that I'm worried for you but where exactly in Academy City are you at this point?_ " It looks like Midorima Shintaro had finally noticed his absence from his team's tune-up games and decided to call up in case something must be wrong. " _Not only that but Momoi and Kise were even inquiring your team about your location and they were constantly asking me about your whereabouts._ "

"Uh…" Kuroko, realizing that at least, one of the Miracles learned that he is in Academy City, knew he had to answer this one smartly. "I'm in a training gym where I'm currently working out. You don't have to call, Midorima-kun. Plus, this one's a slight surprise for me. Just tell them that I'm fine."

" _What about Aomine? Aren't you going to pass a message to him as well? It might not look like it but he's actually looking for you as well._ "

After a few silent moments, Kuroko can only shake his head as he answered. "No need. I had to do something more important so I take this cue to leave now."

" _Kuroko…_ " Midorima must have been stunned that his former teammate actually used a strong tone in his voice though he didn't show it. " _Be careful at this point. Oha-asa said that Aquarius is second to the last and your lucky item, as much as it sounds ridiculous, is a male someone's right hand. It seemed that you would be facing a tough battle from here._ "

Kuroko didn't know how to react for the moment as soon as he heard Midorima's advices. _Right hand? Tough battle? It looks like some foreshadowing is being shown._

"Thanks, Midorima-kun and I'll be leaving right now." Kuroko ended the call and continued running.

* * *

 _Failure._

That one word echoed through Misaka's mind as she leaned against the handrail and vacantly stared out into the lights of the city. Her electricity crackled every now and then as her thoughts lingered on certain memories.

Coughing a little, Misaka squeezed her eyes shut as she clenched her hands. Suffered? What right did she have to think that knowing what she put those clones through? What she continued to put them through just by existing.

 _If she had never given away her DNA map then maybe…_

But now was not the time for "ifs" and "maybes." It was already past that. People were dying and she was an accomplice to murder. She was no better than those scientist or Accelerator because she was the catalyst. This was her fault.

Everything was her fault.

Now, backed into a corner, Misaka was left with only one option left. If this plan worked, it would put an end to the experiment and save the Sisters. It was a solid enough plan, but she didn't like it. She wanted another way. She wished there was another way. However, despite how she felt, there were no other options left for her. All she could do was hope, but even that wasn't enough to reassure her.

"Help me…" Misaka cried quietly, "Please, help me…"

As tears began threaten to form in her eyes, Misaka heard a quiet meow off to her left. Looking in that direction, she saw a single, black kitten sitting on the road, looking up at her.

"A cat?"

She then heard the sound of footsteps approaching, as well as some rather heavy breathing. Looking past the cat, the Railgun saw a very tired but very intense-looking spiky haired boy approaching her.

"What the hell are you doing?" It seemed that Kamijou Touma had found her after all by using the windmills as reference.

After he asked that question, Misaka looked at him.

The Misaka Mikoto that answered before him was the usual lively and smart-assed, and selfish Misaka.

"What do you want?" Misaka asked haughtily as she leans into the rails. "I'm free to do whatever I want wherever I want. After all, I'm the Level Five Railgun. The kinds of delinquents who I might run into at night don't even come close to being a danger to me. And you have no right to say anything to me about this."

However, Kamijou felt like he could see past that mask because it was simply too perfect. _Too perfect for a good time._

He couldn't look at that mask anymore.

"Stop it." He said tersely.

Misaka's expression disappeared for just an instant, but it was back in the very next instant.

"Stop what? What are you talking about?" Misaka mocked him as she continued. "Don't tell me you're stupid enough to try to keep me, the Mikoto-chan who kicks vending machines for drinks, from going out at night. You should—"

In a flash, Kamijou pulled out a pile of papers. It was that insane report printed on over 20 pieces of copy paper.

"I know about younger Misaka, the Sisters, and the experiments, and I know about Accelerator. So let's skip the small talk." Kamijou bravely faced Misaka as he exposed her. "On a side note, I'm actually thankful that I met and befriended Kuroko Tetsuya. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have known the extent of the experiment that you are desperately trying to stop."

In that instant, the "normal" Misaka Mikoto was smashed to pieces.

She probably had no idea how the muscles in her face were moving as her cheek's seemed to tremble and her facial muscles began to twitch.

Kamijou felt a stab of pain in his chest.

He had likely destroyed something that she had been trying to protect at all costs.

Even so, he still went on.

"Ahh, it seemed that you and especially Kuroko's cousin are smarter than I credit for." Misaka sounded casual as she leaned on the rails once more. "Just yesterday, the two of you just met one of my clones and now, you've found out so much. The police can make full use of you two." She said as if trying to get in his way. "Why did you do something like this? If you have that report, you two must have broken into my room without permission. To think that Kuroko's cousin even had the nerve to search through my stuffed bear, you two guys must be even more persistent than someone's sister-in-law. You know…you may think I should be thankful that you've gone so far into this that you can't see anything else around you but normally, I execute someone for something like that."

Misaka was speaking casually with a smile like usual.

That smile that looked like she was freed of something pained Kamijou even further.

"So can I ask you one thing?"

Misaka's bright voice sounded mostly forced.

"What is it?" Kamijou responded almost reflexively.

"After seeing that, were you worried about me? Or could you not forgive me?" she said in her oddly bright voice. "I know that from the point of view of the two of you, I'm just an accomplice who provided the DNA for these experiments."

Kamijou was oddly irritated by the way she seemed to be assuming he had come to blame her and assuming that there was no one in the world who would worry for her.

"Arw you stupid? Of course, we're worried about you." Kamijou retorted. "If you had just seen the grim expression of Kuroko, you would know that we're only concerned about your welfare."

Misaka looked slightly surprised at his almost crushingly low voice.

"Even if you don't mean it, I appreciate hearing it…If only you meant it…"

Misaka smiled. That kind of the broken smile.

"I'm not lying and I'm pretty sure to the highest degree that Kuroko isn't lying about it!"

Kamijou's yell made Misaka jump even more than it did the cowardly black cat.

For some reason, Kamijou simply could not allow Misaka to have that look on her face. That was why he continued forward.

"I apologize that we went to your room without permission." Kamijou explained. "Kuroko did get permission from your roommate and his cousin but I suppose that isn't good enough. Anyway, you can just zap me to your heart's content later although I suggest you spare Kuroko from that. So what are you doing? I doubt you got this report through any proper means. And there's this map in there with it. They're all laboratories researching a certain disease, but what's with the red X's written over them? They almost look like…"

Kamijou fell silent.

"They almost look like kill marks?" Misaka responded quietly while looking at Kamijou.

Her transparent voice was enough to give a chill to anyone who knew her well enough.

The cat at Mikoto's feet looked up at her in dissatisfaction.

"That's pretty much it. Of course, I didn't just go in and blow them up with my Railgun." Misaka almost seemed to be singing. "There are pieces of equipment in those labs that cost hundreds of millions of yen, right? I just used my power over the network to thoroughly destroy them. Without working equipment, the labs can't function, so they close and the project becomes permanently frozen."

She had been almost happily singing, but then she stopped for an instant.

"Or that was how it was supposed to go..."

"How it was supposed to go?"

"Yes. It was easy enough to destroy one or two labs, but the experiment was then picked up by another lab. No matter how many times I destroyed the lab or got in the way, the experiment continued on and continued on. The idea of the never before-seen Level 6 must truly sound wonderful to those researchers."

The girl's voice sounded truly exhausted.

"You know, those girls call themselves guinea pigs without a second thought." Misaka explained in a low voice. "Like rats or marmots. And when they're done, they're thrown like waste. They actually know what "guinea pigs" means. They know…and yet, they still call themselves that. It's all my fault. That's why I needed to save them myself."

Misaka then began to move but was stopped by Kamijou, who blocked his way.

"Where are you going now?" Kamijou asked as Misaka stared at him with an annoyed face.

"There's another experiment scheduled for tonight," Misaka explained, "Before then, I'm going to settle things with Accelerator."

However, before she could pass him, Touma held his left arm in front of her, cutting off her path.

"Can you win? I have the file. It's written here that, in accordance to the Tree Diagram's simulation, you'd die in 185 moves." Kamijou said bluntly, wrinkling the file in his grip, "DO you really plan on winning?"

"You're right. Even if I go all out, I won't be able to scratch him." Misaka admitted, "But then, what am I worth? If I were to lose in the very first move, then it would contradict the simulation completely. If the scientists saw that, then they might have second thoughts about the plan. They might even want to reevaluate the simulations. This way, I can still be useful somehow."

"I see…" Kamijou whispered in utter disbelief. "So you're planning to die?"

"Yeah," Mikoto replied simply, "As far as the researchers are concerned, Tree Diagram's projections are absolute. But, if I was unceremoniously beaten on the very first move, lying there helpless and pathetic, surely there is only one thing they could think, that Tree Diagram's original programming had some sort of error. They'll stop."

"And if they recalculated, then your death would be in vain!"

"That won't happen." Misaka argued back. "Someone shot down the Tree Diagram three weeks ago. They won't be able to recalculate."

"Hey…"

"Do you understand? Let me through now…"

"No. I would accept if you plan to take down Accelerator but to die is simply unacceptable!" Kamijou can't accept that suicidal plan.

Misaka wasn't having any of it. Before Kamijou can move a muscle, she zapped the files on Project Level 6 Shift right of out his hand, turning them to dust. For anyone else that wasn't the boy, this would have made her point very clear.

"What do you propose, then? Do you or Kuroko-senpai had any other ideas, then?" Misaka asked sarcastically, "There's nothing the two of you can do. Shove off your pretty words and ideals. You're making me sick."

"Say what you want, I won't let you pass." Kamijou replied defiantly.

"That's some sound reasoning." Misaka growled as her power flared, scaring the cat away. "So you mean to tell me that you don't care if the clones die? If you don't let me through, I won't hesitate to get pass by force. Step aside if you don't want that."

Kamijou merely shook his head.

"I see. So you want me to do it the hard way." Misaka muttered. "I still don't know what power you have but I can't allow myself to lose here so you had better clench your fist as if your life depended on it."

"What do you think you're doing?" Misaka asked.

"I'm just standing." Kamijou replied simply, "I'm not going to fight you."

"What?"

"I'm not fighting."

"Huh? Are you an idiot!?" Misaka demanded, "Do you really think that I'll go easy on you? There's no other way for me. If you're going in my way, I'm going to take you down!"

"Even so…" The boy calmly replied. "I'm not going to."

Finally, Misaka snapped as she sent a blast to the iron foundation of the bridge.

"Damn it!" She raged. "If you're not fighting, then get out of my way. Don't trample all over my wishes with your half-assed reasoning."

With all of her might, Misaka threw a powerful lighting spear at Kamijou. To her surprise and horror, the boy in front of her took a direct hit from her blast, knocking him down the road several meters. He lied there on the ground, smoking and completely limp.

"No way…my power shouldn't work on him…" Misaka was bewildered. "He usually cancels out my abilities but he instead absorbed it."

To her surprise, Kamijou still managed to get up while taking up a stance of surrendering.

"Do you understand now?" Misaka asked, quietly hoping it would change Kamijou's mind, "I'll do it and I won't hesitate to will hurt you."

Kamijou didn't respond. He simply stood his ground and held his pose.

"I told you…I'm not going to fight."

"I don't get it!" Misaka yelled, "You know how messed up these experiments are, don't you? I'm trying to stop it all! Why are you getting on my way!"

"Yeah, they are wrong," Kamijou agreed wholeheartedly. "There's no reason for someone to get hurt over that."

"So—"

"The way you are handling it won't save you." Kamijou replied, "So I won't move."

Misaka could hardly believe what she was hearing.

"Shut up, idiot!" Misaka demanded, "I don't deserve those words anymore. Even if there is a world where everyone can live happily, I would have no place there.!"

"Do you think your remaining sisters would appreciate that?" Kamijou proposed, "I know you understand. You know this won't save anybody."

Misaka finally had enough.

Once again, her power flared to life, overloading every single lamppost on the bridge. For the first time since the entire confrontation, Kamijou flinched in response.

"Shut up. You don't know what you're talking about," Misaka declared, "There'll be at least some form of peace if I die. There's no other choice for me than to die. If one life can save ten thousand lives, then isn't that a wonderful thing? Wouldn't that be fine? So please…"

"I'm not moving…" Kamijou replied simply.

That was the last act of defiance to come from the spiky haired boy. In quick response, Misaka engulfed the entire bridge in a giant sphere of electricity. The power surge caused brown outs that spanned several city blocks. The steel support beams began to bend at the immense electrical and magnetic power the Electromaster released.

Nothing could have survived such an onslaught.

* * *

"I'm sorry but I don't know what is going on with Kuroko-chan at this point."

Komoe can only say in a show of sympathy as Kiyoshi can only grip his hand in despair. Earlier on, Kiyoshi and Index had gone to the house of the tiny teacher and the former nearly broke the door in response to Himegami's act of shutting them out. But because of how the Iron Hear pounded the door with impunity, it was all heard by a passing Fukiyose Seiri, who just happened to jog on the way. Hearing the commotion, the girl with walls of iron confronted the taller man and it could have gotten worse if it wasn't for Komoe, who immediately broke up the fight.

"But is he performing well in class?" Kiyoshi decided to cool off for now. At the moment, the five of them plus Nigou and Sphynx, who are eating bits of rice and meat under the table, were sitting around the table as the four girls were eating yakiniku while the Seirin center was drinking a can of cold coffee that Komoe offered to him.

"Kuroko-chan is actually a very bright student." The pinkette brightly narrated. "In fact, you can call him hardworking. It's just sad that he only came to Academy City for basketball training."

"That's so? I'm glad to hear it." Kiyoshi said as he smiled. "After what happened, I can't blame him for going here."

"Why? What happened, Kiyoshi-san?" Himegami asked.

"It's a bit complicated but our recent losses were the reason he sought training here." Kiyoshi sighed as he slurped his drink."

"I think he mentioned something like that in his first day." Fukiyose butted in. "By the way, aren't you the Iron Heart, Kiyoshi Teppei-san? The second best center in the whole of Japan. I think I heard of you some years back as well as what they call the Uncrowned Kings."

"I don't like that nickname." Kiyoshi waved it off. "By the way, Komoe-sensei, can't you really not help me?"

"I'm sorry…" Komoe apologetically replied then suddenly brightened up. "But I have a way to help you, Kiyoshi-chan." She then pulled out a picture and handed it into the large hands of the player. "Here. This is Kamijou Touma-chan. He became best friends with Kuroko-chan. In fact, whenever Kamijou-kun goes, Kuroko-chan is there as well."

"Hmmm…" Kiyoshi scanned the photo. "You know what? He had the built of a basketball player. He can at least be a good point guard."

Fukiyose nearly spitted out her drink the moment she heard the center's comment. "Seriously, you don't even know—"

"But well…" Kiyoshi cut her off rudely. "If only I had…"

Suddenly, he seemed to have a sudden idea as he stood up. "Komoe-sensei, thanks for entertaining me here. I'll be leaving for now. And..uh…Nigou?" Kiyoshi called the Alaskan Malamute, who barks happily as he went near the tall man. "I think you should stay here for now. Get some rest, boy."

To Fukiyose's shock, Kiyoshi pushes the puppy into her hands as he said. "Hey, can you watch over Kuroko's dog while I'm gone? I'm going to do something fast!" With that, he took his leave.

As the four girls watch the Seirin big man disappear from the door, Fukiyose was dumbfounded by what is happening around here.

"Seriously, what in the Earth is happening?! And why didn't he tell me this was Kuroko's puppy earlier?!"

* * *

"I hope I'm not too late…"

After getting stalled by Shirai and a rare phone call from Midorima, Kuroko began to run wildly as possible as he then takes a look at the windmills. He noticed that despite having no wind movement, they are still moving. He correctly guessed that they are reacting to specific electromagnetic waves. Following that lead, he then dashed through the streets.

 _Even if it kills me, I'll help Misaka-san._ Kuroko thought as somehow, it seemed that his physical drills and exercises were paying off in a sense that he isn't panting or even getting tired. Maybe the thought of not letting Misaka or his newly-found friend die was more dominant in his new Personal Reality.

Kuroko had long figured that Kamijou Touma had realized what was going on with Misaka and had gone to stop her before the next experiment took place. With that in mind, he knew he had no time to spare. Not only were people being murdered but his friend had rushed into the thick of things. The tealnette could not sit idly by while knowing that Kamijou had potentially put himself into danger.

The thought of the experiment caused the memory of what he had stumbled upon earlier made his stomach turn. To be able to do that to another human being is just appalling enough. He would never understand how someone could put a price on a human life; how it could be tossed away for the sake of achieving something so ridiculous and even impossible.

Kuroko had swallowed down the bile that had risen in the back of his throat from his thoughts and aimlessly raced through the city, unsure where to go despite following the windmills. He had tried calling Kamijou several times with no success. He had no idea what he was going to do.

In an instant, a flash of light came from his far right, followed by a thunderous boom. Kuroko's basketball adrenaline surged at the sound.

 _Isn't that the bridge? If that's the case…_

He made a sharp and quick turn as he jumped over fences, not even realizing that somehow, he began to gain some agility as normally, he couldn't even do that stuff back in Teiko and even in Seirin. He stumbled for a bit as he landed but quickly regained his footing and continued running. There was a cold feeling of fear running in his veins.

The moment he reached the bridge, he wasn't ready for what he saw.

He made a sharp turn, jumping over the small fence leading the park. He stumbled as he landed, but soon regained his momentum, fear coursing through his veins.

Out of all of his expectations, the sight that greeted him in the charred and almost destroyed bridge was something he hadn't even considered in his mind. He tightened his fists as quickly (and maybe, for the first time in his pacifist life), his mind began to darken.

"What the hell did you do to him?!" It might have been rare for Kuroko to shout in an uncharacteristic manner but he didn't care.

Frankly speaking, the bridge got roasted in perfect pitch black; the support beams were buzzing with sparks that left charred streaks behind them. But Kuroko Tetsuya was not concerned even the slightest with the state of bridge at that moment.

Sprawled on the ground unmoving was Kamijou Touma. He was unconscious or worse, possibly dead for all he knew, with obvious electrical burns on her arms and legs. But worst of all there was Misaka, standing above him with a shocked expression. She was trembling, staring down at the spiky haired boy with wide horror struck eyes. She didn't respond to his shout and he had no idea if she even had heard him or even felt his presence arrive (not that it helps since he lacks presence).

Maybe for just the second time since punching Kagami in the Seirin-Shutoku match, Kuroko gritted his teeth even harder, tightening his fists once more before stomping over to Misaka. As soon as he reached her, Kuroko had no qualms grabbing a hold of her shirt and forced her to face him.

"Misaka-san! Did you do this to him?!" He revised his question a little even though it was obvious what the answer was. At his tugging, Misaka snapped out of her stupor only for her face to crumple up in grief and despair.

"He's an idiot." Was the first thing Misaka mumbled as tears gathered at the corners of her eyes and slid down her cheek. At the sight of her tears, Kuroko found himself finally cooling down his head as he's loosening his grip on her shirt before releasing her completely.

To his surprise, Misaka fell to the ground and pulled Kamijou's prone body close to her.

Misaka sniffled. "I-I told him to go…but he wouldn't listen. He had nothing to do with all of it so why? S-she's such an idiot. I—" She inhaled sharply. "I never meant to hurt him…why wouldn't he do it?"

As he watched her cradle the spiky haired boy, understanding began to dawn in his mind. He looked down at Kamijou's still form, and a fond smile made its way onto his face

 _I see…_

And with that thought, he then realized that maybe Kamijou Touma and Kuroko Tetsuya had more in common than he first realized. _Maybe fate does have additional plans for me._

And eventually, Kamijou finally woke up.

"You really are a complete idiot, aren't you?" Mikoto asked, tears forming in her eyes, "This is my problem, not yours and Kuroko-senpai's. You could have just let me handle it instead on involving yourself. You could have just turned a blind eye and pretended like you two never saw anything. Instead, you do all this, just like every other time someone had a problem. Why would you do this to yourself? You look like hell. I think you heart might have stopped for a second there."

As Misaka spoke, Kamijou attempted to lift himself up. However, he found himself lacking the proper strength and fell on to her lap yet again. Despite his predicament, he couldn't help but smile and let out a weak laugh, much to Misaka's confusion.

"How can you keep smiling like that?" Misaka asked, tears falling from her face and landing on to Kamijou's.

"Because me and Kuroko were glad to be on your side." Kamijou replied weakly while petting Misaka's head. "So don't cry."

"I know how to stop the experiments." Kamijou declared as he was helped up to his feet by Kuroko, who slung his arms around his neck. "The experiment is based on the presumption that Accelerator is the strongest Esper. But, what if he is proven to be incredibly weak? For instance, let's say he was handedly defeated in a fight with a Level 0. The project's basic premise would be flawed."

"What are you say?" Misaka asked in horror, "You can't mean…"

"That's right," Touma replied, trying to stand on his own. "I'll fight him."

"Impossible! He's so strong and arrogant, he could take on an army without breaking a sweat!" Misaka protested. "You'll die if you will—"

"Fine, then." Kuroko spoke up as he sighed. "I trust that you will do so. After all, I have seen what you can do."

"Kuroko-senpai, don't go encouraging him!" Misaka shrieked as she was desperately trying to stop the two of them. "You two don't even know what kind of guy he is!"

"How about you help the two of us then?" Kamijou cut her off. "It's my dream to go back home smiling, without having lost anything. So help us fulfill that."

Miraculously, Kuroko looked at Misaka then smiled softly. "You heard him, Misaka-san? I trust what he was doing."

 _There are no heroes who will rush to the aid of crying damsels—_

"Kuroko! You're a perfect passer, right?" Kamijou confirmed. "I need your help in setting up an ambush. You know…you basketball…"

Kuroko merely nodded as he shows his duffel bag, which had three leather balls that he borrowed.

"Misaka, show me the way." Kamijou said. "Then you can wait here. We'll bring back Misaka Imouto."

Misaka Mikoto can merely cry softly as a few minutes later, she watch the two boys ran towards the location of the experiments.

"Thank you…" She whispered as she gets up to her feet and soon, she found herself following them.

* * *

 _ **Sneak peak for the next chapter!**_

 **After meeting Misaka Mikoto at the bridge, Kuroko Tetsuya and Kamijou Touma finally ran off to School District 17 to confront the strongest Level One Esper in Accelerator, whose power can be compared to a god. It's finally going to be the culminating battle between the strongest and the (two) weakest. But amidst the battle, someone unexpected suddenly joins in and it stunned the three involved people to no end.**

 **Meanwhile, the rest of the Generation of Miracles held a meeting at Maji Burger to discuss the sudden disappearance of their certain Phantom Sixth Man and at one point, Kise suggested that they, too, should go to Academy City as well to investigate. What Akashi will say would certainly stun the prodigies and Momoi, who is expecting to hear developments about her one-sided crush.**

 **See you in the next chapter!**


	9. Strongest Versus the Weakest!

Midorima Shintaro had closed his flip phone after he had a brief but somewhat tense conversation with a certain light blue-haired boy, who is kilometres away from where he is.

His face was calm but deep inside, he was bewildered and confused at the same time.

"What is with Kuroko this time?" He asked himself in a hushed tone as he then turns around his body and with it, he quietly faced his five other companions, who were all waiting for her with signs of anxiety.

"Well, Shintaro?" Always high and mighty, Akashi Seijuro's heterochromatic eyes gleamed with both fury and grander as he crosses his arms while waiting for an answer from his former Teiko vice-captain, who nearly freeze at the sight of his captain wanting—no, demanding an answer right away in his silent wait. Murasakibara, who was seated across their former Teiko captain and point guard, merely munched his potato chips although he was avoiding the gaze of Akashi. Aomine, who was next to the Yosen giant in the circular table, merely kept quiet although deep inside, he was also anxiously waiting for an answer. For someone who claimed that he and his former light are already "enemies," it seemed that in his own gruff and rude way, he still cares for the tealnette. Kise, who was on the other side of Murasakibara, wanted to cry in worry while Momoi, who was beside Aomine, wanted to demand for the safety of her own Tetsu-kun.

"Kuroko hanged up rather quick and in a brusque way." Midorima quickly wasted no time reporting what he learned as he rejoins them in their seats. "But based from the breathing and the atmosphere he was in, it looks like he was running. Why he is running is something I don't know. Also…"

He then looks sharply at Aomine, who seemed to be surprised by the way their former Teiko shooting guard and current Shutoku ace stared at him.

"It seems that he isn't even in the element to talk with one of you." The lefty shooter bluntly raised his voice. "Although I don't know any of his reasons for that act, there isn't any doubt about it based from the tone and language he used."

Seeing who Midorima is pertaining to, Aomine suddenly got provoked as he stood up furiously and was about to verbally confront the taller man but within the last minute, Akashi withheld him from doing so by raising his hand while issuing an order. "Shintaro, Daiki, don't start a fight here. We're here to discuss the sudden absence of Tetsuya, who is missing in action since their game against Daiki and Touou High School. Satsuki, what did that idiot in Kagami Taiga told you?"

"According to Kagamin, they don't exactly know where in this place called Academy City is Tetsu-kun right now." The pinkette manager who chose to attend Touou High School to keep an eye over the problem child in Aomine confessed. "And he doesn't seem to lie about it because it looks like he was frustrated about his sudden excuse to go to another place."

"It seems like even Seirin High School had no specific idea as to where Tetsuya went. It seems that we're on our own and we had to move on for now." Akashi closed his eyes as he concluded. "For now, we'll leave Tetsuya as it is."

Everyone was about to begrudgingly agree but suddenly, Momoi stood up as she slams her two hands with force that is rarely seen from her. "But Akashi-kun! Who knows what will happen to Tetsu-kun?! What if—"

"And what, Satsuki?" Akashi asked menacingly. "Do you think it's easy to tailgate Tetsuya as of this moment? Besides, his safety is already now the responsibility of Seirin High School. You barely can take care of Daiki over there in Touou so what right do you have to question his safety? Besides, we all know Tetsuya. He wouldn't put himself in danger."

Momoi simply kept clamped her mouth as she silently sits back on the chair.

"But Akashicchi…" Kise then joined in. "What if we just go to Academy City to investigate? Knowing you, it should have been an easy job, right?"

The reahead point guard of Rakuzan High School looked at the blonde small forward of Kaijo before dropping a shocking statement. "If it was that easy, I would have done it a long time ago."

Everyone's head turned around in surprise to hear a rare admission of helplessness from the usually prideful Red Emperor.

"If there is anything that cannot be touched even by my father's best detectives, it's simply Academy City." Akashi began to clarify. "Though using the same monetary system and education, they are independent from the rest of Japan and their technology, as much as I hate to admit it, is almost 30 years ahead of the rest of Japan. Even I wouldn't think of trying to enter that city since it would be a waste of time. One of the few ways to enter Academy City long-term easily is to have a relative who is already studying there and I believe Tetsuya took that method. Here, take a look at this."

Akashi then produced a long brown envelope from his back and placed it on the table for everyone to see. Midorima picked it up and took a printed file. "Shirai Kuroko…Elementary Education: Tomigaoka Primary School. Hmmm. So this is Kuroko's cousin?"

"Exactly, Shintaro. Unfortunately, that's the only record I could find and it took my best detective some difficulty in obtaining it. Whatever things we need to know more about Tetsuya's cousin in Shirai, we would have to obtain it at Academy City." Akashi explained. "That is why I said that going there would be a waste of time. We'll just have to wait until Tetsuya comes back. Kagami Taiga himself said that he would also return in a short notice. Now, meeting adjourned. Everyone, go back to your schools. Some of you still had to prepare for the preliminaries in order to meet me in the Winter Cup."

And with those cold words, Akashi stood up and left them , not even bothering to look back as he rode back to a waiting limousine and sped off.

There was an uneasy silence as everyone that is left on the table pondered upon Akashi's words. It stayed like that until…

"Guys, come on." It was at this point that Murasakibara finally opened his mouth. "Let's go home now. I want to catch up to that sale on the packs of maiubo sold in that mall."

"Leave if you want, Murasakibara." Midorima spat at the Yosen center. "No one is here to listen to your snacks."

 _Where can you be, Tetsu-kun?_ Momoi worryingly thinks about her crush as she was in her own, lost world.

* * *

Kamijou Touma left the black cat with Misaka Mikoto as he and Kuroko Tetsuya then ran under the blanket of the dark sky.

On the west end of Academy City was a large industrial area.

Apparently, a train switchyard there was the location for the 10032nd experiment.

"Which means that _she's_ the next one to be slaughtered…"

The tealnette recognized the number 10032. That was the serial number they heard when they encountered a flock of all Misaka clones that were carrying the body bag containing the dismembered corpse of their fellow clone.

"Shit, this is going to be a challenge." Kamijou cursed out aloud as they continued to run.

A great impatience assaulted their chests as the two of them had to get to that switchyard as quickly as possible, but the busses and trains had already been returned to their garages. With most of the transportation facilities shut down, Kuroko and Kamijou had no choice but to run on their own legs.

Despite losing most of his stamina, the spiky haired boy continued to grit his teeth as they continued to race against time. The latter moved his battered body and ran despite the fact that doing so was shaving away the little stamina he had left. Kuroko had once thought of getting him to the nearest hospital but decided against it when he correctly guessed that it would only cause unnecessary distraction and an interruption of the adrenaline running through his friend's veins.

Leaving the shopping district, he entered a residential area and the lights and hustle and bustle of the city seemed to grow more distant. As he ran further, the student dorms started growing sparse, too. After cutting past some small trees that had been artificially planted, he reached the industrial area.

"Wait…" Kuroko suddenly recognized the place as they are running towards the said place of the experiment. "This is…School District 17…"

Far away from any residential district, its purpose is for producing items that are needed for research within Academy City so they don't need to rely on the usual factories that are common in the outside world. The buildings in the industrial section are windowless and are highly organized, built to work for 24 hours a day.

In short, this was an industrial area so that items made from the research carried out in the city could also be produced within the city. However, the area was not filled with factories that looked like slightly dirty rented storage areas in a downtown area. Instead, the area was lined with windowless industrial buildings. The area was oddly organized and had no sense of being lived in, far from the Misawa Cram School where Kuroko and Kamijou both battled Aureolus Izzard. It was a little reminiscent of an area of a city filled with offices.

There was no one there.

"Kuroko…" Out of the blue, Kamijou stopped as he bowed his head. "I think we would destroy the element of surprise in this way."

"What do you mean, Kamijou-kun?" Kuroko asked as he stopped running as well.

"Although I saw that you're physique right now is a far cry from what the time you were new here, I don't think going together would help us right now." Kamijou honestly let out his thoughts. "So here's my plan. While I battle Accelerator, you must take out Misaka Imoutou out of the experimentation site carefully. That way, I'll distract Accelerator. Then if you think I'm in trouble, bail me out. But don't worry, I know how to fight my way."

Kuroko blinked before sighing in his own stoic way. "That's fine for me, Kamijou-kun."

* * *

The time was 8:25 pm.

The weather was calm, and the sky was clear. Even with the polluting light coming from Academy City's urban jungle of fluorescent and reflections, the moon shone as brightly as ever, casting its reflected light over the deserted train switchyard. Misaka 10032 was all alone in the train switchyard, keeping a steady pace as she walked through.

Similar to a transit bus garage, it was a place where many trains were serviced and where they were kept after the last train ran. An area about the size of a school's grounds was covered in the same gravel as a train track and over 10 rails were lined up next to each other. Lined up at the end of the tracks were garages with large shutters over them making them look like rental storage areas at a port. Surrounding the entire switchyard were large numbers of metal containers used on freight trains. The containers were piled up like building blocks and they rivaled three story buildings in height. The disorderly piles made the area around the switchyard seem like a three-dimensional maze. The containers were like mountains and the switchyard itself was like the basin between the mountains.

The switchyard was not a popular place, frankly speaking.

As all students had to be back from school by the time the last train left, the switchyard was quickly deserted like it wasn't even used for some years. The electric lights used for work were turned off and there were no houses nearby so there is no visible lighting that can be seen. Even though about two million people lived in that city, that area was wrapped in such darkness that the usually invisible stars were visible in the night sky panorama.

"The time is 8:25 by my clock," a voice called over from above, "You're a few minutes early."

Turning towards the sound of the voice, Misaka saw Accelerator sitting on top of one of the many shipping containers in the train switch yard. He sat there completely relaxed with his leg crossed over the other. He was simply waiting for the appropriate time to take action. It was only the 10032nd time he was doing all of this.

His form seemed to be one with the surrounding darkness, so Misaka Imouto felt like she was being thrown into a giant organ belonging to Accelerator by entering that switchyard.

The white boy smiled in the black darkness.

His eerie whiteness gave her the feeling that her eyeballs had been thrown into boiling water.

"So it's 8:25… I take it you're the next doll to be targeted in the experiment?"

Accelerator's voice sounded like a white darkness spewing forth from that smile that split across his face.

But Misaka Imouto's expression did not change even slightly.

"Yes, Misaka is Serial Number 10032, responds Misaka." The clone replied in the typical stoic way. "However, shouldn't you check using the passcode to ensure that Misaka is part of the experiment? suggests Misaka."

Accelerator couldn't help but click his tongue in frustration. "Tsk. You're fucking insane…" The white-haired albino rudely spat out. "Well, I may have no right to say this as someone forcing you to take part in this experiment to make me stronger but you sure are calm. Don't you feel anything about this situation?"

"The phrase 'anything' is too vague for me to comprehend, Misaka replies to some confusion," The girl replied in an innocent-like voice, "Three minutes and twenty seconds until the experiment is scheduled to begin. Are you ready? Misaka inquires, seeking confirmation."

"Tsk. Great." Accelerator didn't hide his disdain. "I wanted to kill some time but that doesn't seem possible. I can't talk with you all." He said as he slowly stood up from the large cargo containers and from there, he e jumped down from the top of the stack of shipping containers, using his power to negate the recoil he would have felt from jumping at such a height.

"Okay then, are you ready? It's about time you die." Acclerator asked as he sneers at her, "You worthless piece of excess product."

"8:29:45…" Misaka 10032 calmly noted the time. "Experiment no. 10032 shall now begin. Subject 'Accelerator,' please move to your designated position, orders Misaka." She then puts on her goggles and in an instant, a green light appeared. Taking a single step, Accelerator augmented and redirected the vectors that determined his motion and rushed forward in a rapid pace.

Acting quickly, the Imouto dodged to her left, attempting to zap her opponent with a mild electric shock as he flew past her. The shock did nothing as it simply bounced off his body and into the ground. She then jumped backwards in an attempt to put some more distance between the two of them, firing another, larger shock at him. The result was the same. The shock was simply redirected to the ground surrounding him.

"What? What? What is this?!" Accelerator mocked her efforts as they chased each other. "No matter how much time you buy for yourself, miracles won't happen!"

Misaka 10032 then fired another shot of electricity to no avail but using whatever magnetism she got, the clone jumped on top of a small stack of shipping containers, doing her best to keep some distance between her and Acclerator.

"Huh?"

"This night…" Misaka Imouto emotionlessly looked at Accelerator before turning her gaze towards the sky. "…had no wind."

Accelerator was about to disregard the comment but stopped when he noticed the smell in the air.

"Oh, I see…" The albino remarked, somewhat impressed. "You're using electrons to break up oxygen and create ozone. Trying to make me run out of air, huh?" He then laughed sadistically. "Wonderful! Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful! Serving as my enemy rather well, heh?" He jumped into the cargo containers, only to see the Sister running away as she tried to make a daring escape.

"This does not bore me. You do get smarter after getting killed ten thousand times." Accelerator calmly landed on the pavement as he simply followed the running Misaka Imouto. "But there's a weak point in this. If catch you, then this plan will fail, no?"

Accelerator then took a single step and glided over the surface of the ground, easily catching up to and keeping pace with the running Sister.

"Don't act surprised. I just changed the vectors behind my feet." Accelerator menacingly explained.

Now within striking range as he glided, the first-ranked Level Five threw a modified punch at the clone, sending her flying off her feet. She landed severely on the ground, getting torn up as she rolled to a train railing.

"Hey, do you know of a method of beating your opponent without hurting your own knuckles?" Accelerator asked as he approached the fallen, bleeding Imouto and stepped on her. "The second you touch the other person's body, change the vector of the opposing momentum towards that person." He then began to kick her as the Imoutou can only winch in extreme pain. "Well, your opponent gets twice the amount of pain but…"

The albino then stopped kicking her as he slowly said. "Hey, we have a visitor…" Accelerator noted, looking off to the side.

Following his gaze, Misaka Imouto was completely stunned at what she saw. Standing no more than a couple meters away was Kuroko Tetsuya and Kamijou Touma. Both of them were panting heavily as the raven of the two was leaning on a nearby shipping container. Kuroko looked fine but his other companion looked to be completely tired, both from his lack of breath and his ragged, injured body.

However, despite all this, he held a steely, determined gaze as the two of them calmly faced the albino.

"Bastard! You get away from Misaka's sister right now." Kamijou demanded as Kuroko can only pity the fallen clone.

"Hey, hey, are you civilians to our testing sites now?" Accelerator asked through his teeth, "Man, this'll leave a bad taste. Gotta kill off civilians that find out about the secret, right?"

"Shut up…" Kamijou warned the Level Five.

"Hah?"

""Step away now!" Kamijou demanded, clutching his fist, "Get away from Misaka's Sister! I mean it, get away from her this instant, you thug!"

"And who do you think you two are?" Accelerator slowly turned around to face the pair of black and blue. "Calling me, the strongest of the seven Level Five espers, a thug? It's not even funny."

"Oi, Kuroko…" Kamijou whispered to the tealnette. "When I begin to move, go around those cargo carriers and get Misaka Imouto out of here. I'll take him head on."

"Kamijou-kun…are you fine about that? He looks like bad news." Kuroko calmly noted, although he can feel the hairs of his arms stand up.

"Saving her is the priority now." Kamijou declared as he then began to walk towards the two. "Act now. Just don't let yourself get caught." Kuroko only nodded as he then run away from their current location to sneak behind their target.

As Kamijou walked away to face Accelerator, the Sister tried to get up in a desperate attempt to stop him. However, her injuries got the better of her, keeping her on the ground.

"I don't care," Kamijou cut her off, "Manufactured or not, it doesn't matter to me. And you're more than just a bunch of chemicals now. After all, you're still the only one of you in the whole world, right? That's why I came here. Sorry, but you aren't going to be dying, not today. You still have accounts to settle."

After saying that, Kamijou took a step forward.

The teen was going to fight Accelerator. He had no weapon and he was going to fight that person who singlehandedly could crush an entire army smiling the entire time.

He had made that clear.

Meanwhile, Kuroko was now running in circles as they had already planned to first take Misaka 10032 out of the experimentation field before he can pitch in to help Kamijou. But as he was about to turn into another lane of the high-rise stacked shipping containers, he suddenly he heard what looked like an eruption in the ground. The explosion sent him down crashing to the dirt pavement although he was able to recover and continued to run. But then, something tell him to slow down as he felt his phone suddenly vibrate. Nearly wanting to curse out aloud, he then pulls out his flip phone and as soon as he answered it while he was running (although he somewhat slowed down), he nearly dropped the voice when he heard who is calling.

" _Oi, Tetsu!_ "

As much as he wanted to get stunned and not answer the phone, Kuroko kept his cool as he didn't let his reaction carry over the line. "Aomine-kun, this is a surprise. Why did you call?"

" _Don't give me that, Tetsu. Where the hell are you?_ " An annoyed Aomine Daiki replied. " _Akashi has summoned all of us in a meeting and if you don't know, this was because of your sudden disappearance. Just admit it, where the hell are you now?_ "

Kuroko sighed as he was navigating through the stacked containers. "I'll just repeat what I told Midorima-kun a while back. I'm have a training in Academy City and it would be in your best interest if you end this call right now. I'm in the middle of something."

" _Oi, Tetsu!_ " Aomine roared on the phone. " _Something tells me that you're not telling me the truth. What the hell is wrong with you? If you're still mad about that ga—_ "

Suddenly, another large blast accompanied by what looked like the tracks of a train getting detonated out of their placements brought Kuroko back to the real situation he was currently in.

" _O-Oi, Tetsu! What was that?_ "

"Aomine-kun, I'm leaving now and I mean it." Kuroko replied rather tersely as he then ends the call and began to ran like a wild man.

* * *

"What was that?!" Momoi shrieked. "It looks like a bomb has been detonated!"

"Beats me." Aomine gritted his teeth as he closes his phone. "But I'm sure as hell that what he was doing was no training at all. It looked like he's in a brawl."

"Brawl, you say?" Midorima sardonically replied as he pushes up his glasses. "I don't know what kind of instincts you have that you were able to say that, nanodayo, but we all know that Kuroko isn't one when it comes to joining a fight, much less picking or instigating one."

"Shut up! Don't underestimate my instincts, you carrot megane!" Aomine roared as he was deeply offended by Midorima's words.

"Heeeh! Midorimacchi, Aominecchi, stop fighting, you two!" Kise had to intervene as he squeezed himself between the two taller players. "Fighting won't lead us to something."

* * *

"I wasn't expecting this kind of power…"

Kuroko said in awe as he witnessed Accelerator launched those trail racks without effort towards the boy whom he was supposed to help. Miraculously, Kamijou managed to evade those sharp trail racks but when Kuroko tried to get closer to the two combatants, the spiky haired boy managed to signal to him that he didn't need it—for now. Understanding what he meant, Kuroko then tended towards the fallen Misaka 10032, who was surprised to see him come to the place as well.

"Gya, says Misaka wanting to suffer a heart attack upon sensing your very weak presence." Misaka Imouto's eyes widen upon the arrival of the tealnette, who knelt before her. "What are you doing here, asks Misaka trying to warn the boy to stay off from being involved into this experiment."

"We came to help you, what else?" Kuroko smiled as he slings Misaka Imouto's arm around his neck. "We needed to tend to your injuries real quick."

"Will the savior be safe, asked Misaka as she worries for the savior." Misaka 10032 flatly asked but there was a hint of worry in her emotionless eyes. Kuroko then looked back, just in time to see Accelerator come closer to Kamijou and tried to finish him off but to Kuroko's relief, he heard the shrill of the Imagine Breaker went off as the albino wasn't able to finish him off.

"He'll be fine but we needed to get you out of here first." Kuroko, with a heavy heart of having to leave the fight to his friend at mind, replied grimly. "If observation tells me right, Accelerator-san is controlling the some kind of an unseen force to make things to move. In other words, it was akin to a deities being able to create miracles. But…"

Kamijou's Imagine Breaker could destroy any kind of supernatural power even if it was one of god's miracles. Even if Accelerator's reflection was a perfect defense that could reject even a nuclear explosion, Kamijou knew it should not be able to defend against his right hand.

Accelerator was the strongest and therefore he could stand up to the entire world at once.

"His power was not absolute enough to be able to defend against Imagine Breaker." Kuroko added as he walks Misaka Imouto out of the battlefield. "But with that in mind, I don't know if Kamijou-kun can defend himself from physical objects like bullets and knives. If he needs to win, he can't even have a room for error."

As he was walking Misaka Imouto into a hidden portion of the stacked shipping containers, he then raced to find something useful to tend to the clone's wounds. He was lucky enough to find a gauze that was actually used by Kagami when he was injured from his battle with Midorima in their one-on-one. While he was wrapping Misaka Imouto in her forehead, he suddenly found himself choking in the air.

"What the—huh?" The tealnette found himself looking at his right hand and he spotted white substance in his calluses. "This looks like wheat flour. Wait, did they accidentally destroy some cargo that this thing got out? But judging by the thickness of this cargo containers, they can't…" He barely stopped himself as he then realized that it was the work of the ranked-one Esper, whose power is to control vectors.

Kuroko and Misaka Imouto were surrounded in all directions by the white curtain of wheat flour.

The particles stopped circling but the cloud of dust continued to rob the Seirin passing specialist of his vision. The cloud of powder was like a white mist as it hazily obstructed he view of the two. "If only Akashi-kun was an Esper, I would have zero thoughts in asking help from him."

"Now, it looks like these containers held flour, but this nice windless night might be making this a very dangerous situation." Kuroko heard Accelerator talk from afar, "There are stories of explosions in mines, right? Those don't happen because someone didn't use their explosives properly."

For the moment, things began to click in Kuroko's mind as to why wheat powder was intentionally released.

"They were caused by the fine dust from the stones filling the air in the mine. I'll make you into a piece of art, weakling!"

Kuroko immediately grabbed Misaka 10032 as he jumps out of their hiding spot in shock.

Not even minding the weight of the clone, Kuroko navigated as fast as he can out of the powdered area into a much clearer place. "Why didn't I get it in the first place? I heard of dust explosions but I didn't even realize that he'll used the wheat flour as the explosive material." Kuroko was mentally slapping himself as he was barely able to get the two of them to safety when all sound was blown away.

The area with a 30-meter radius in which the wheat flour had been scattered became a giant bomb. The entire area became wrapped in flames and heat as if gasoline vaporized into the air had been ignited.

"That was close." Kuroko had to heave a sigh as he then checks Misaka Imouto. "Imouto-san, are you fine?"

"Other than the wounds in my body, Misaka is in good condition, says Misaka trying to reassure the other savior." Kuroko smiled at that as he then puts another gauze at Misaka 10032's left leg. Just then, the tealnette heard another shrill of the Imagine Breaker and from there, he heard what looked like to be an exchange of punched. Peeking a bit, he was relieved and delighted that Kamijou had finally broke the invincibility of the top-ranked Esper as the spiky-haired boy managed to pummel the albino to the ground.

"Hah…hah…hah…"

"Huh…Misaka-san?"

Kuroko heard what seemed to be footsteps running towards where he was staying and he was surprised to see the original Misaka Mikoto showed up to this place. "Ku-Kuroko-senpai, is she fine?!" She asked rather urgently.

"Yes but what are you doing here?" Kuroko asked in curiosity. "Kamijou-kun himself said that he would fix this…"

"Who gives that idiot the right to step into my own battle?" Misaka annoyingly sighed as she softens her voice. "Besides…I can't let him die, Kuroko-senpai…he's precious as much as my clones are…"

"Huh? Did you just say that he's your crush?"

Misaka nearly choked the moment she heard those words coming out from the tealnette's mouth. "H-H-Hey! That wasn't what I meant!" She was flustered as she vehemently denied the Seirin ace's words. "I can't possibly fall in love with that idiot!"

"But Misaka-san, falling in love and having a crush are actually two different things. Unless if you meant the latter…"

"Can we just focus on this thing in front of us?!" Misaka changed the topic and as the two were helping Misaka 10032 stand up on her own, the usually calm weather suddenly turned turbulent as all of the sudden, the flow of the wind started to swirl around with a roar.

"Kukakikekokakakikukekikikokakakikukokokukekekekokikukakukekekokakukekikakok ekikikukukukikikakikukokukukekukakikukokekukekukikukikokikakaka!" The albino seemed like he was trying to get hold of himself as he lifted his arms.

A large atmospheric swirl that looked like a hole had opened in the earth had taken a spherical form above Accelerator's head. Gravel in the area was swept up with it and that giant swirl of destruction with a radius of a few dozen meters gave its joyous birth cry.

Due to the strength of the hurricane-like supernatural force, Kuroko was forced to hold on to an iron pillar as Misaka and Misaka 10032 hugged him tightly into his torso in mere instinct. It was all unplanned but Kuroko was supposed that it was better than having them being carried off by the destructive wind.

But as they were all holding on with one another, Kuroko suddenly spotted something much gorier as his eyes scanned the whole area. Immediately, he spotted what looked like a figure lying lifelessly into the dirt pavement. But what made Kuroko almost vomit is the small pool of blood in him. "Ka-Kamijou-kun…" Kuroko can only gasp in an expression of both grief and anger as he can only watch the whole scene being replicated in his mind.

"N-No…nooooooo!" Misaka screamed as she too saw the unmoving Kamijou lie down on the dirt floor.

Then, just as quick as it had formed, the wind died, the sound died, and the atmosphere died rather quickly.

Unable to tolerate the scene any further, Misaka and Kuroko had silently agreed to do one thing.

In that instant, the pair of brown and blue had stepped foot into the switchyard.

For Misaka, she had been watching Kamijou's fight from the beginning. She had wanted to charge between him and Accelerator countless times, but doing so would make his plan fail. Misaka had only been able to silently watch as Kamijou became more and more battered.

But that wasn't only her worry.

She almost had a heart attack when she spotted Kuroko taking out Misaka 10032 from the deadly dust explosion and he almost died in doing so.

But with those things in mind, she knew that she had hit upon a wall.

"Accelerator, stop this!" While it is rare, Kuroko seemed to have lost respect for the albino as he dropped the –san suffix that he usually adds even when talking to people he didn't know. The tealnette beside her might not even be the strongest nor does he looked like the coolest but for the moment, Misaka found the courage to stand up against the monster in the form of Accelerator, knowing fully well that at least, she had someone he can confide on.

"Hah?" Accelerator heard Kuroko's voice and quickly turned his head for the second. "Who are you? I never saw you prior to this although I'm quite surprised that you brought along that cheap third rate into this." It looked like that even if he was the strongest Esper in Academy City, Accelerator didn't detect Kuroko's presence almost immediately.

"Like Kuroko-senpai said, stop it!" Misaka defiantly added as she stuck out her arm at a distance of a few dozen metres. An arcade coin lay on the thumb of her clenched fist while purple electricity was overflowing from her entire body. With just a light flick of her thumb, Misaka could fire the Railgun she was named for at three times the speed of sound. Kuroko also brought out one of the three Spalding leather basketballs that he brought into his duffel bag and was prepared to fire a pass—albeit a pass he just realized (only now) it had a potential and was planning to use it on-spot.

In other words, it was a pass that in his theory, it was ten times (or even 20 times) much more powerful than the Ignite Pass that Aomine or Kagami was used to catching.

In other words, it was a pass he never had once used before but he was willing to gamble upon it, as a last resort.

"…Misaka…stop…"

Suddenly, Misaka and Kuroko realized someone was calling the name of the Railgun.

The voice was so very weak but it belonged to a boy they knew very well.

"…Stop, Misaka!"

Kamijou Touma's sorrowful cry caused Misaka's hand to freeze.

The original plan of Kamijou was to singlehandedly defeat Accelerator (with the help of Kuroko, if necessary) in order to fool the researchers into concluding that the project was worthless. This can only be done either by a Level Zero like Kamijou or someone who didn't even have a ranking like Kuroko. Once Misaka interfered, that plan would fail horribly.

If Misaka didn't interfere though, the mass of raging wind would crush Kamijou's already-battered body.

But if Misaka did interfere, Kamijou would be allowing 10,000 Sisters to be killed.

In other words, it was like a position of "damned if you don't, damned if you do."

"But even so, I can't just sit back and watch, Kuroko-senpai." Misaka had tears in her eyes as she was happy that at least, Kamijou Touma was alive. "And I'm sure that you feel the same, Kuroko-senpai."

A smile carved into the tealnette's face as he let out a soft. "Yes, Misaka-san. I feel the same sentiment."

Misaka then had decided his mind as she decided to fire her Railgun. But to her surprise, something else was forming into the hurricane-like power.

Accelerator sneered as he spread his arms wide up into the night sky. In the next instant, the wind flowing through the city focused on one point. It was a point 100 meters above Accelerator's head. When the raging wind gathered there, a bright white light appeared as if from welding.

"Th-That looks like plasma, Misaka-san." Kuroko muttered as the Railgun was too stunned to even bother to reply.

Compressing the air created heat.

"By the hot feeling in the skin and the way it looks, it looks analogous to how combustion engines convert diesel fuel." Kuroko smartly guessed what he observed. "By compressing the city's air with a ridiculous compression ratio, it had turned into a mass of heat exceeding 10,000 degrees Celsius. This forcibly caused the atoms in the nearby air to split into cat-ions and electrons which turned them to plasma." He learned this fact from Teiko's physics class and from Komoe Tsukuyomi in their summer class at a certain high school.

"I know that fact but how would that help us?!" Misaka was now beginning to lose the hope that he just regained minutes ago. "That thing can only be stopped when we can control the wind, Kuroko-senpai."

Misaka Mikoto was certainly Academy City's strongest in the category of Electromaster and Kuroko Tetsuya is arguably the best passer in middle school (and high school) Japanese basketball.

But against such unyielding force, what can the duo do to even contain Accelerator?

Suddenly, Kuroko then heard Misaka 10032, who is gripping on his shoulder in an effort to balance herself, suddenly began to speak. "Savior, onee-sama, let me handle this one, says Misaka now gearing up to help her three saviors contain the mass of plasma." Misaka 10032 defiantly replied as she still clung into Kuroko's shoulder. "Misaka cannot understand the true meaning into the words of onee-sama and the other savior but the words both of you have spoken left an impression on her for some reason, thinks Misaka expressing her frank feelings."

In just a few minutes, the sphere of plasma floating above lost its form.

"What the?"

Accelerator looked up. That plasma had been created from all the wind flowing through the city being condensed into one point. The flow of that wind had clearly shaken for an instant. That had caused an error in the compression ratio which caused the plasma to be shaken as well.

The albino thought he might have made an error in his calculations of the wind, so he rebuilt those new equations. Unlike simple reflection, he had to calculate both, the vector before alteration and the vector after alteration which was a somewhat harder.

But the movement of the wind flowing through the city suddenly changed as if escaping from the supposedly perfect equations he had built up in his head. It was not a mere coincidence. It was as if the wind itself had a will and was slipping through the gaps of his equations.

The mass of compressed air above his head scattered and the plasma disappeared as if it were dissolving into the air.

"What the hell?!" Accelerator cursed out aloud. "What the hell's with the wind? Wind manipulation? There was no mistake in my equations. Those irregular eel-like movements were clearly not natural movements of the air!"

Accelerator started panicking wondering what had happened, but then he heard a dry clattering sound.

It was the sound of a wind turbine spinning.

"Wait, I think I've hear of those. If you reverse the polarity though a generator, you can make the turbine spin in reverse. Wait…"

Accelerator turned around toward the Imouto he thought he had crushed to death, but he did not find a dying girl there.

What he found there was his enemy—no, three of them.

He found the enemy standing on her legs that seemed about to collapse, not raising a single complaint about the intense pain running across her entire body, and silently glaring at him as he was plopped into the shoulders of Kuroko, who was also glaring at him with such intensity that he though him and a certain spiky haired boy were brothers.

Accelerator's red eyes changed to a deadly crimson.

Even if his control of the plasma and the wind had been stolen, a Sister could not stand up to Accelerator. That right hand was the sole thing in the world that could penetrate his perfect defenses.

"I'll crush you!"

A smile split across his face as he took a step toward the Sister.

But even before Misaka Mikoto can cut in between the two, someone else had already beat her into it.

"I'm sorry but you'll have to kill me first before you touch the three of them."

Kuroko blinked at that familiar _deep_ voice.

A certain person was standing in front of the three people. To the view of both Misaka and Accelerator, he was a random and a total stranger but to the tealnette, he knew he cannot be wrong to whom he saw. _Standing more than six feet…having large and strong arms…that deep voice…that chestnut hair…_

"Ki-Kiyoshi-senpai, what are you doing here?!" Kuroko can't help but get confused.

* * *

Just an hour ago, Kiyoshi Teppei was like a madman as he was running all throughout the streets under the cover of darkness.

For the first time in his life since he started playing ballgames in his first year at middle school, he was concerned at things other than basketball, Seirin High School, defeating Murasakibara Atsushi, Hyuga, his Aida Riko, Izuki, and matching up against Kagami Taiga.

"Hey, have you seen this guy?" He randomly asks a street pawn, who happened to be selling Takoyaki at a nearby stall. He was holding a picture of Kamijou Touma, whom he was informed was a friend of Kuroko Tetsuya.

"Hmmm. I don't know. Just ask some other guys out there." The man sympathetically tapped the shoulders of the Seirin center, who is beginning to get frustrated at the lack of progress in finding Kuroko. _But even so, I cannot give up at this point._

He continued to run and run until he spots another stranger, who happens to be a guy walking randomly in the streets. "Sir, excuse me!" He flagged down the man, who removed his earphone as he faces the taller Kiyoshi. "I'm sorry to disrupt you but can I ask for help? Have you seen this guy?" He then shows the photo of the boy with spiky hair. "I needed to see this guy desperately!"

"Hmmm. I didn't see him today." The teen shook his head but then, he said something very helpful. "But you know, bruh, he looks familiar."

"How?"

"Well, I don't really know this guys personally but from how we pass each other every school days, he studies at a certain high school not far from here." The boy explains. "And if I'm not mistaken, he's always seen with that Third-ranked Level Five of Tokiwadai Academy."

"Huh? Who's she?" Kiyoshi asked rather dumbly.

"Eh? You don't know her?" The teen rhetorically questioned Kiyoshi as if he was about to laugh. "Are you new here? Because almost everyone in this city knows about Misaka Mikoto-ojou-sama. That's the girl who is the strongest—uhh wait, isn't that her?"

He teen pointed to a certain direction and Kiyoshi spotted a young teenage girl running in her brown loafers looking like she was finding something on her own. While being sceptical, Kiyoshi's senses tell him to follow her path.

"Bruh, if you want, you can follow her." The teen offered. "But at your own risk. She's rumoured to be quite…"

"Thanks! I'll be off now!" Kiyoshi runs off as he leaves the teen in the dust.

Kiyoshi then stealthily followed the short-haired girl, who seemed to be too much focused on a black cat she was holding that she didn't even realize that someone else is following her. In a few minutes, Kiyoshi noticed that the place that they are entering to is a bit dim when it comes to lights but nevertheless, he didn't care.

Suddenly, they were in a footbridge and the girl stopped abruptly, causing Kiyoshi to stop abruptly as well.

Suddenly, both of them heard an explosion from afar.

"An explosion…" He heard the girl shout out aloud. "Don't tell me he and Kuroko-senpai really was…" She didn't finish her sentences but it was enough.

Kiyosho knew she was the only remaining lead that she has.

Seeing that she suddenly put down the black cat, she then run off—and she seemed to be running off towards the site of the explosion. Kiyoshi was about to follow her but suddenly, he heard the purr of the black cat as the creature was looking at him with seemingly innocent but perceptive eyes.

"Hmmm…" Kiyoshi wondered for the moment what he should do. "Do you want to come with me, kitty, to save your master?"

The cat meowed, as if nodding to what the Iron Heart said.

In a swift motion, Kiyoshi quickly swiped the black feline creature into his arms and caught up to the girl, who was in her own pace.

It wasn't that long before the girl and Kiyoshi reached what looked like a deserted cargo yard and with that, he saw Misaka enter the place. He then put down the cat, saying, "Kitty, just stay here. If your master is entering, I'll be entering too." And with that, he calmly entered the deserted switchyard.

From there, he witnessed a lot of things.

The moment he had finally stepped foot on the place, he almost jumped into joy as he spotted Kuroko Tetsuya holding what looks like wounded girl into his shoulders. But more than that, he witnessed a lot of things.

He had been watching Kamijou's fight with the albino, who seemed to be pretty making things effortless. He even had to hold on to one of the iron grills when the albino suddenly used his power to sum up shit tons of combination of wind and ions to form plasma—a phenomenon the Iron Heart can only describe as "amazing yet dangerous."

And the moment the albino threatened to kill the three people in front of him, Kiyoshi realized he just can't stand back and watch despite knowing well that against an Esper, he can't do much.

And that's what he exactly did when he stepped in to prevent Accelerator from closing the gap.

"Ki-Kiyoshi-senpai, what are you doing here?!" Kuroko can't help but get confused.

"What else, Kuroko? Kiyoshi faced his kouhai as he flashed his signature foolish grin. "I'm here to protect you three." He then stretched his arms like he was defending in a basketball game.

"B-But, you can't do anything!" The girl, who is identified as Misaka Mikoto wailed in horror. "Kuroko-senpai, who the hell is this guy? Tell him to stand back!"

But before Kuroko can reply, a noise came from behind Accelerator.

"Stand down…"

Accelerator timidly turned around.

An unbelievable sight spread out before his eyes there. The boy who had been blown away by 120 meters per second winds and slammed into the pole of a wind turbine was slowly standing up.

The boy had countless injuries and it looked like blood was spurting out whenever he put even a slight amount of strength into a muscle. He had almost no strength left as his legs were trembling and his arms were hanging down like the branches of a willow tree.

Even so, the boy did not collapse.

He would certainly not collapse.

Not when the likes of Kiyoshi had shown up to fully support his effort, no matter how indirect in might look like.

"Grrrr…"

Accelerator's throat grew as dry as a desert.

Normally, one would think that boy could no longer fight. Someone with that much damage would be destroyed by Accelerator in a single strike.

Even if Accelerator did not want to directly fight the boy, he could always just kill Misaka, Kuroko, Misaka Imouto, and the newcomer in Kiyoshi Teppei so he could regain his control over the wind and the plasma.

Accelerator was standing much closer to the four people than the boy was.

His reason told him that he could easily win if he dealt with everything calmly.

But something beyond that told him it was incredibly dangerous to turn his back on that boy.

Danger signals were fired from every part of his body.

A normal person would have been able to understand those signals as fear of pain.

"Real funny!" The albino growled.

Nevertheless, Kamijou moved his battered body to take a step forward.

With just that slight movement, it felt like all of his blood was spilling from his veins. It felt like just thinking slightly would blow his consciousness away.

Even so, Kamijou continued forward.

With his dim consciousness, Kamijou did not completely understand the situation. He did not know why that wind had blown, he did not know why the plasma had disappeared, and he did not know why he had survived. Even his mind was so battered that those important things had been knocked from his awareness.

Even so, he saw the situation before him.

He saw Accelerator about to kill his three friends.

He saw a tall man that he didn't even know personally standing between them to act as a shield for the three.

That was enough.

That was more than enough reason for him to stand up.

"Real funny!"

He heard Accelerator's voice.

"You're really fucking amazing!"

As Accelerator howled up at the night sky, he ran forward clenching his fist in order to crush Kamijou Touma. He did the same alteration of the vectors of the force of his foot as he kicked the ground as before so that he flew forward like a bullet. Kamijou was thankful. If his opponent was coming for him, he didn't have to walk any further. With Kamijou's battered body, he would likely collapse before making it to Accelerator.

Kamijou Touma had no power.

He did not even have the slight bit of strength left needed to walk on his own two feet, to form words with his own tongue, or to think with his own mind.

Even so, Kamijou clenched his right fist.

He clenched it.

He looked up.

He then signalled a nod to Kuroko, who noticed it and immediately brings out the basketball from his duffel bag.

"Kiyoshi-senpai!" Kiyoshi turned around just in time to see the ball flying directly into his palm. He then saw Kuroko running around as if trying to gather enough momentum. As this was happening, Kamijou stood defiantly as he was ready to meet Accelerator, who had almost reached him as he shot forward like a bullet.

For an instant, time stopped.

Kamijou mustered up every last ounce of strength remaining in his body and sank down as if he were swinging his head down. The right hand of suffering fruitlessly passed above his head and the left hand of poison was knocked aside by Kamijou's right hand.

"Grit your teeth, you weak strongest!" Kamijou said to Accelerator whose heart had frozen at having his doubly assured attack suppressed.

Kamijou gave a ferocious, beast-like smile while they were at such extreme close range that they were almost touching.

"Have a taste of the strength of us, weakest!" He roared as at the same time, Kuroko had already gathered enough time and once he knew he was ready, he signalled Kiyoshi to pass him back the ball. The Iron Heart complied and once he did it, Kuroko sent the ball rocketing towards the direction of the path of the albino and as he did, he twisted his wrists, giving the ball stability and added strength at the same time that instant later, when Kamijou's right fist ploughed into Accelerator's face, the ball slammed into the chest of the so-called top ranked Esper.

 _What was that?_ Misaka was somewhat dumbfounded with the pass that she saw. _This isn't any ordinary basketball pass like what we did in physical education classes. It looked like a bullet fired from a rifle!_

His slender white body was forcefully knocked by the combined force of the fist and the basketball as he was sent crashing down to the dirt pavement where he rolled around with his arms and legs roughly strewn about.

After that, Kamijou's world turned black.

* * *

When Kamijou awoke, he was in a dark hospital room.

Perhaps due to anesthesia, he felt an odd feeling in the area of his lips. He moved only his eyes to look around. He was in a standard private room and it seemed to be the middle of the night. Only the sound of the air conditioner could be heard in the silent hospital room. From the fact that a change of clothes or fruits from visitors were not lying around, it seemed it had not been long since he had been brought to the hospital. The only other things in the room were rows of chairs next to the bed and three familiar people who sat within the chairs.

"What!?"

Kamijou tried to jump up without thinking, but his anesthetized body did not move.

Misaka Imouto had bandages wrapped around her body in places. He also heard the mewing of the black cat. Kamijou couldn't see it from his location, but it must have been curled up beneath the bed.

Also, Misaka Imouto had her hands wrapped around Kamijou's hand.

It really didn't matter but Misaka Imouto had drawn her hands up to her chest, so Kamijou's hand had been brought to the border of touching a certain bulge.

"M-M-M-M-M-Misaka-san? Wait, this is odd. Why is such a happy event occurring? I don't remember activating any flags in this direction!"

Kamijou's shout must have surprised the black cat beneath the bed because it let out a frightened mew.

"Your conversations are as incoherent as ever, but just so you know, you were the one who grabbed Misaka's hand, says Misaka using the modern kana usage to make herself easier to understand."

"Also, Kamijou-kun, you're injured so please be calm." Kuroko hushed him as he took out a large apple (similar to the one Stiyl Magnus was cutting when he first met Kuroko at the same hiospital). "By the way, you lost a lot of blood that Dr. Heaven Canceller-san examined Kiyoshi-senpai, who had to transfer some to your veins. It happened that both of you had the same blood type."

"Eh? Really?" Kamijou looked at the other guy, who was smiling goofily at him. "Well, thanks…uh…"

"Kiyoshi Teppei's my name, Kamijou Touma. I'm Kuroko's senior back at Seirin High School. The truth is, I was here because I wanted to see if Kuroko is doing fine but…" Kiyoshi extended his arms to shake hands with the boy, who took it. "You know what? I didn't expect Kuroko to have new and weird friends."

 _Well, you looked plainly weird as well with that stupid smile!_ Kamijou groaned.

"Well, at least, whatever activity that is, we all managed to return home safely."

Kiyoshi ad said that lightly and Kamijou can only smile softly. He had to mean it because what would the three of them have been risking their lives fighting for otherwise?

"About that, replies Misaka." Misaka 10032 was petting the cat. "Misaka still cannot return to the same world as you, says Misaka honestly."

Kamijou's body started to tremble as Kuroko was somehow disturbed by what he heard. _Was that experiment still continuing?_

"No, it is not that. The experiment seems to be headed to its end since Accelerator's defeat, thoroughly reports Misaka." Misaka Imouto fell silent for an instant. "The problem for Misaka is her own body, explains Misaka."

"Your body?"

"Yes. Misaka's body is a clone body created from the Original's cells and it was rapidly grown with the use of various chemicals, explains Misaka. Cellular clones have shorter life spans to begin with and that rapid growth only made it shorter, says Misaka hoping you will understand."

"Oh, I see…"

Kuroko can only mutter as much as that while Kamijou was left speechless.

That was just too much for the two of them to bear.

They had all finally worked together to free her from that hell and now they could not be together no matter what they chose because of the girl's short lifespan.

The girl had fought without complaining even once, but in the end, she had nothing left no matter how hard she struggled.

"So it is necessary for Misaka to temporarily stay in a research facility in order to be adjusted…" Misaka 10032 temporarily stopped when she noticed that the two of them weren't listening—or at least, paying attention to her. "Are you listening? asks Misaka as she glares at you."

"Hah? Adjusted?" Kamijou replied.

"Yes. By adjusting the hormone balance that brought on the accelerated growth and by adjusting the nucleus division rate, Misaka's life span can be recovered to a certain extent, replies Misaka. …Hello? By any chance, did you just assume the story was over here? questions Misaka."

"Will this adjustment thing heal you?" Kiyoshi didn't really understood what is this all about but at the very least, he got the very idea that this girl was a clone.

"You seem to be implying that Misaka would not be healed, says Misaka in a displeased manner." Misaka 10032 retorted.

The cat below the bed mewed.

"Misaka will be going."

Misaka Imouto picked up the slightly frightened black cat and headed for the door.

"Ah, wait. You're going already?"

"Do not worry." Misaka 10032 did not turn back around. "You will see Misaka soon, announces Misaka."

"I see." said Kamijou as he closed his eyes.

That was fine.

If they made any kind of special promise, it would give him the feeling he would never see her again. Instead, he was just going to see her soon and he truly believed that. That more casual parting was much better.

The story was not over.

There was enough still to come that he would remember that day as being nothing special.

In the darkness of his closed eyes, he heard the sound of the door closing.

He was then assaulted by a drug-induced sleepiness.

Even so, Kamijou smiled as he dreamed of the time he would see her again.

* * *

Some hours later, the sun had already risen at seven o'clock and Kamijou's eyes were open.

"Oh, are you awake?"

Misaka Mikoto had said that. Her face was thickly covered with weariness, but she still smiled. He seemed to be carrying a paper back while Kuroko and Kiyoshi were both preparing some breakfast for Kamijou to eat. It seemed that they left Misaka to guard him while the two of them bought food.

"Here, I brought you some cookies. I chose some pretty expensive ones from the basement of a department store so they might be kind of good. Tell me what you thought of them later. If they aren't any good, I'll never go back to that store."

"Home-made cookies are the best, you know." Kamijou rolled his eyes as he remarked sarcastically.

"What kind of character you are hoping I'd be?" Misaka twitched in irritation.

"You know? I'm talking about having a clumsy character clumsily doing her best to make some misshapen cookies. Well, you probably just don't understand."

"I said, what kind of character you are hoping I'd be!?"

"Eh, stop please! Kuroko and Kiyoshi-san are here, you know!"

"Kiyoshi, ah, you mean that tall guy who casually barged into our fight…" Misaka scanned the Iron Heart, who seemed to be in a lively conversation with Kiyoshi.

"Oh, right. Misaka Imouto came by last night."

Kamijou told Misaka what had happened the night before. He told her that Misaka Imouto was staying at another research institution to heal her body and that she had promised to come back to Kamijou someday.

"I see."

That was all Misaka said.

"But," Kamijou muttered and Mikoto silently looked over at him.

Her eyes were like those of a child left alone in a strange city, but Kamijou was not looking at them.

"If you hadn't shared your DNA map, the Sisters would never have been born in the first place." Kamijou shared an undeniable fact. "There may have been a lot wrong with that experiment but I think the birth of the Sisters is something you should be proud of."

Misaka remained silent for a bit.

Finally, she poke in a voice that sounded like a child who was about to cry.

"Even though over 10,000 Sisters were killed due to me?"

"Even so." This time, it was Kuroko, who was bringing Kamijou's breakfast, who responded. "At least, you know to yourself that until the very end, you had loved them like your own blood-relative. Be proud, Misaka-san. It's not like you wanted it to happen in the first place."

Saying painful things were painful and that difficult things were difficult was something that anyone could do but they could not do them if they had never been born.

"I'm sure the Sisters do not resent you." Kamijou patted his head. "There were a lot of twisted aspects to that experiment, but I'm sure they're thankful that they were born."

Misaka's breath caught in her throat.

Seeing her face, a small smile appeared on Kamijou's anesthetized face.

* * *

When three o'clock had struck, the three students simply sat there in quiet, enjoying each other's company. Kuroko and Kiyoshi were eating their snacks while Kamijou was lying asleep in his bed. The danger had passed, all the issues have been resolved, and their personal peace had been restored.

Unfortunately, that peace and quiet didn't last very long.

When it was time for snacks, Kamijou woke up, only to see a familiar person suddenly appearing on his bed.

"Touma!" The voice of Index Librorum Prohibitorum yelled as she was staring at him from extremely close range from atop the bed. "Touma, don't you have something to say?"

"Uh…hello?"

In an instant, Kamijou was subjected to Index's relentless biting assault. It was so painful to watch that even Kiyoshi had to pitch in to help Kuroko pull Index away from their wounded comrade.

"Index-san, quiet," A familiar voice was heard in the room. "You can't go yelling in a hospital."

"Eh? Fukiyose?" Kamijou was surprised to see their classmate, who was frowning at him, standing directly in front of his bed.

"Don't "eh" me!" The Forehead Deluxe growled as she nearly wanted to slap Kamijou. "What happened to you? Didn't you realize how I was so worried about you!"

"Well…something happened but don't worry, I'm fine." Kamijou then flashed a sweet smile that it made Fukiyose's heart melt although she didn't want to show it out of embarrassment.

"Gah! Kuroko, your dog is here with me. Be thankful that I even wasted my time just to take care of your mutt." She haughtily replied as she carried Nigou in front of Kuroko, who was elated to see him. The dog barked happily as he licked Kuroko in his face.

"Kuroko, that's your dog?" Kamijou asked. "He's cute."

"Thank you for the compliment, Kamijou-kun." Kuroko deadpanned as he puts down his dog. "By the way, Kiyoshi-senpai, I still have five days to complete my training here. I'll continue it once Kamijou-kun gets out of the hospital."

"Well…" Kiyoshi then stood up and grinned. "If that's the case, then let me accompany you in your remaining days here in Academy City so that we get home, Riko won't have to kill you. You know how much she wanted to punish you for your absence."

Kuroko shuddered at what he heard. "Are you sure, Kiyoshi-senpai?"

"I'm fine. I brought enough clothes and money to last for a week."

"Excuse me…" All of the sudden, Doctor Heaven Canceller entered their room. "Kuroko Tetsuya-san, I'm sorry to disturb you but your motorcycle is already down there."

"Anou…what did you say, Doctor Canceller-san?" Kuroko must have heard wrong. "I didn't even own a motorcycle, let alone drive one…"

"Ah, that's because someone gifted it to you." Doctor Heaven Canceller chuckled. "At least, that's what the letter said."

Kuroko blinked.

He didn't even expect any of this.

* * *

In a certain windowless tower, Aleister Crowley smirked.

"Sometimes, you have to let loose on someone…" He thought to himself…" So that they'll even grip further onto you…"

He was watching a certain teal-haired boy looking a bit confused in a hospital room.

"You'll understand it, Kuroko Tetsuya…" The greatest Magician that was thought to be thought to be dead smirked even further as he watched the scene. "Not even your captain from Rakuzan can outwit me in a mind-game and a battle of mental fortitude…"

* * *

 _ **Sneak peak for the next chapter!**_

 **After completing his remaining five days of training with the help of Shirai and the supervision of Kiyoshi, he and the Iron Heart both went home with the motorcycle that came from none other than Academy City's General Superintendent although Kuroko himself didn't knew who he is—for now.**

 **Back at Seirin, the two were welcomed rather wildly and at some point, Kagami asked where Kuroko had obtained the motorcycle. Riko even suggested that she borrow his motorcycle for some time, although Hyuga realized she was just interested in the new vehicle of their passing specialist.**

 **Meanwhile, Kamijou Touma, who was supposed to take a break in order for the higher-ups to control the situation regarding his victory over Accelerator, once again faced off with another magical dilemma as he again met Tsuchimikado and a female Saint whom his "old" self had already met once but someone Kuroko had yet to meet. With the problem seemingly getting out of hand as they faces off against one of the archangels ranks of the angels, Kuroko found himself engaging the Magic Faction once again as he rides into his motorcycle together with Kagami, Kiyoshi and…**

 **Midorima?**

 **Huh? What?**

 **See you in the next chapter!**


	10. Miracle Swap

The sun was barely up at 5 am but Kuroko Tetsuya was already wide awake.

Just 10 hours ago, he and Kamijou Touma were able to leave the hospital together with Index and Kiyoshi, who was accompanying them. They celebrated Kamijou's release in the hospital with a light lunch at a certain family restaurant although Kamijou was certain that by the looks of their orders, it is anything but light as Index, being almost insensitive to the financial capability of his partner, asked him to order her a lot of dishes such as barbeque, sandwiches, fried shrimp, etc. If it wasn't for the kind act of Kuroko, who volunteered to pay at least three-fourths of what Index had ordered, he would have been at the mercy of her relentless bites.

Speaking of their gathering, Kuroko then took a glance at Kiyoshi, who was still sleeping in the futon that was provided by the landlord of the student apartment where they are staying. _Maybe it was better that I have some companion in my last five days._ He chuckled to himself as he decided to test-run the motorcycle that was given to him by a mysterious man through Doctor Heaven Canceller.

After dressing in his Seirin basketball shorts, a plain white t-shirt, and a pair of Asics slippers, he then went outside for the moment and immediately, he spotted the black motorcycle with teal seats. Similar to the Kawasaki KLR250 and its predecessor, the Kawasaki KLX250S in terms of appearance, it is an enduro (a form of motorcycle sport run on extended cross-country, off-road courses) or dual-sport bike which means it physically looks like a dirt bike, and shares many characteristics with a dirt bike, but it is street-legal and intended for on-road and off-road use. The 250cc 4-stroke engine produces 24 to 28 horsepower at the wheel. The bike weighs 288 lbs with oil, grease, and petrol. Its fuel capacity is 2.4 gallons (9.5 litres). It has a top speed of 85 meters per hour.

If there are a few things the Generation of Miracles didn't know about Kuroko, the fact that he actually rode a motorcycle on his own before he even became a second year in middle school was unknown to them.

His father, Kuroko Taiyo, used to drive an older Kawasaki 454 LTD, which was the forerunner of the Kawasaki Vulcan. The engine was a precise copy of the Kawasaki Ninja 900s, with two fewer cylinders. The Kawasaki 900 had a 908 cc engine. He had used this in going to and from his office. When Kuroko was still young, his father used to drive him at parks and eventually, the older Kuroko began to teach him the basics in riding a motorcycle.

One of the first things the tealnette had to learn is the basic controls of a motorcycle. The throttle is used to control the engine speed and is located on the right hand side of the handlebar. It is just like the gas pedal in a car. When one rolls on the throttle, the engine speed will rise and the speed will go up. When one rolls off the throttle, the engine speed will fall and the bike will slow down.

The front brake lever is used to activate the front brake and is located on the right hand side of the handlebar in front of the throttle. One can squeeze the lever to use the front brake. The rear brake lever is used to activate the rear brake of the bike and is located near the right foot position in front of the right side foot peg. The clutch lever is used to operate the clutch and is on the left side of the handlebar. The clutch lever acts like the clutch pedal in a manual transmission car as a connection between engine power and rear wheel. The shift lever is used for shifting and is on the left foot position in front of the left side foot peg.

Other parts of the motorcycle include the dash, which usually consists of the speedometer, the tachometer and the neutral indicator, the speedometer which shows the current speed of the bike in miles per hour, the tachometer shows the current engine speed represented in RPM (revolutions per minute) and the neutral indicator which will light on when the bike is in neutral.

In short, it was a tedious but worthwhile effort.

When Kuroko first learned how to ride the older bike, he had to get the feel how he fits on the motorcycle. He had to grip the handlebars, clutch lever and brake lever to make sure he can reach these controls comfortably. After learning to power the motorcycle, Kuroko was also thought to "power walk" the motorcycle, meaning he should start walk the bike forward while keeping it steady with his feet and he repeated the process until he was able to keep the bike upright when he pulled his feet off the ground. In short, he was able to get a good sense of balance in their older bike.

 _I think I'll have to use my father's license for now._ Kuroko sighed after he was able to prop up to his motorcycle, which he already used yesterday so he can bring Kiyoshi and Nigou back to his student dormitory. The Iron Heart was even surprised when he saw how good Kuroko was in terms of driving a motorcycle.

After that certain morning ritual, Kuroko then rode his motorcycle and decided to fetch Shirai Kuroko at his dormitory. After a few minutes, he was able to reach their dormitory, just in time to see his cousin already walking out of her dormitory room together with Misaka, who was a bit surprised to see him come at their place.

"Tetsu-nii!" Shirai teleported himself into Kuroko's hug.

"Shirai-san, I'm sorry to disturb you. I just felt like as your older cousin, I needed to fetch you." Kuroko sincerely apologized. "And good morning, Misaka-san."

"Good morning to you as well, Kuroko-senpai." The Railgun smiled in politeness. "Well, if Kuroko is having a basketball session with you, then she can just catch up with us later. Neh, Kuroko. Just come to Saten's dormitory later."

"Yes, onee-sama!"

And with that, the three had decided to just push it together in the dual-purpose motorcycle, no matter how much it looks a bit illegal.

* * *

The five days had passed so swiftly.

In those five days, Kuroko had already finished his drills and exercises with the help of Shirai—and the supervision of Kiyoshi, who joined them as they are training together. In fact, the moment the Iron Heart met the Teleporter, he was more than amazed at the power of Kuroko's cousin. He was given a sample of it when Shirai teleported him to a washroom rather than to ran to the cubicle, which is some minutes away from the stadium where they are holding their drills.

"Woah. It feels like I entered the seventh dimension." Kiyoshi chuckled as he was able to finish urinating.

As for their drills, they are all exercises which are commonly used among recruits of Judgment and Anti-Skill but not much used in normal high schools (like Seirin) that are found outside Academy City. It was all harsh (not too harsh but still harder than Riko's training) that Kiyoshi even asked himself if he could even take on the physical activity of the law enforcement of Academy City. "But this must be the reason why Kuroko asked Shirai to train him physically." The Iron Heart approved his kouhai's decision as he watched Kuroko, now wearing weights in his feet, now running at the field inside the Judgment Training Center while Kiyoshi, who is in his basketball outfit, is also having some light exercise on his own as he was glad that there was a rarely-used basketball court in the large area at School District 2.

The Judgment Training Center is a large area in Academy City' School District 2, that is used for training for prospective Judgment recruits for four months, before becoming an official member of Judgment. The area consist many large building complexes, with a communication towers and large lighting fixtures, which is probably for night training purposes, built in the area as well as a large empty field that is used for drills.

Although not a Judgment member himself, Kuroko and Kiyoshi were able to get special access to the place through the efforts of Shirai, who made sure to give his cousin the best training the city could give.

In those five days, Kuroko had solidified many weaknesses of his basketball fundamentals, such as shooting and dribbling. Kiyoshi was glad when he saw Kuroko practicing a normal three-point shot and would take as many as a hundred shots in an hour before he moves on to dribbling.

"But Kuroko-san…" The tealnette one day told Shirai as the three of them were taking a break. "I'll be clear: I'm not abandoning my old style but rather, I'll enhance it further."

"Tetsu-nii, we already agreed upon that, right?" Shirai sighed. "Oh look, onee-sama is here!"

True to Shirai's words, Misaka Mikoto arrived to their training grounds and watched as the two relatives continued to train while Kiyoshi was shooting some hoops on the other half of the basketball court. Soon, Misaka can't help but comment something.

"Neh, Kuroko-senpai, now that you can play like normally, don't you think it's time that you create your own style?" The Level Five Railgun casually commented as they were all taking a break. "Like, you can shoot the ball as much as how Kuroko can teleport. I mean, if you can make the ball disappear in the air like how you make your passes buzz like a bullet…

Okay, Misaka didn't sound convincing at all and she might not make sense but something from her words made Kuroko stop sipping his Gatorade as Kiyoshi and Shirai were wiping off the sweat from their faces.

"Misaka-san…I think you reminded me of what Kuroko-san said a few days ago…"

 _Yeah, but what if we could find a way to make you be able to shoot in a different way that is unstoppable? Wouldn't that be great?!" I mean, if you can disappear, wouldn't it be cool if you could make your shot disappear too?"_

After the day has been concluded with Shirai going home with Misaka, Kuroko opted to stay behind while asking Kiyoshi to go ahead.

He seemed to have found another answer to his own Personal Reality.

But aside from those basketball drills, Kuroko had also enjoyed his remaining five days with Nigou, Kamijou, who recovered rather fast from his injuries, and Index, who always nags the three males to treat her with food. Sometimes, during an impromptu class summer class discussion where Komoe summoned the Imagine Breaker wielder and the Seirin passing specialist to a certain high school, Kiyoshi gleefully decided to sit-in with the two of them at Komoe's classroom and it was then that he realized that Academy City's curriculum is indeed more advanced than the one used in Seirin High School.

In other words, it was a mixed feeling of heaven and hell in those remaining five days that the Phantom Sixth Man, the Iron Heart, and the Imagine Breaker.

* * *

It was August 27, which meant that it was already Monday.

While it should have been a day of celebration, Kuroko and Kiyoshi knew otherwise as once he leaves this place, he knew that he'll be returning to his old way of life. But for some reason, something is bugging him. _It looks like this isn't the last time that I would be here. Must be because of Kuroko-san or Kamijou-kun but either way, I just have to be prepared._

For the moment, Kuroko is packing his things as he will just sling them in his shoulder when he would ride in his motorcycle. Kiyoshi would be riding in his back as a passenger and like Kuroko, he would be slinging his duffel bag in his shoulder. Standing in front of their student dormitory, the two of them were preparing to ride their mode of transportation as Tsuchimikado Maika, Shirai, and surprisingly, Fukiyose, were all there as they decided to send them off in a warm way.

"Neh, Kuroko-san…" Maika cheerfully said as she sends them off with a tray of candies made by her. "Come visit us again when you have the time. In fact, visit us all in the Daihaseisai and Ichihanaransai events!"

"Tetsu-nii, don't forget the training regimen that I gave you." Shirai sternly reminded his cousin as she handed him a book of natural work-outs, training, physical enhancement and other modules being used by their law enforcement body to improve and maintain physical fitness. "Other than that, good luck with the Winter Cup!"

"Neh…Kuroko…" For some reason, the Iron Wall Girl was hesitating to talk for the moment before she eventually gives him a jersey jacket bearing the colors of a certain high school. "Even though we didn't interact that much and you only stayed here for the moment, I guess you made an impact with Kamijou. I see that you come and visit us."

Kuroko gave a small smile before accepting the jersey jacket. "Thank you Maika-san, Kuroko-san, and Fukiyose-san but where's Kamijou-kun? He's supposed to be awake now with Index-san…"

"Ah, about that, Kamijou Touma seemed to be summoned by that famous tiny teacher. I don't know why but from what I hear from big brother, it looked like he would be sent out for some kind of an immersing activity." The maid replied while sitting atop of a cleaning robot. "Well, you two needed to go back to Seirin, right? Then bon voyage!"

After wearing a leather jacket, a balaclava, and a full-face black motorcycle helmet, Kuroko then inserted the key and as he out the gear shifter to neutral, he then stepped on the gas and before anyone knew, he began to walk the motorcycle with Nigou in-between him and Kiyoshi. The smoke then belched in a furious manner before eventually, the vehicle sped away on its own.

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later…**_

"Neh, Kuroko, we're nearing the checkpoint." Kiyoshi, who is wearing a half helmet with a face shield, muttered as Kuroko had to slow down the Kawasaki motorcycle after a fast yet surprising smooth driving by the tealnette, which is a testament to one of his hidden skills that he inherited from his father, who commutes using a motorcycle. Nigou was strapped in so that he wouldn't fall in the borderline daredevil run of the motorcycle.

"I know, Kiyoshi-senpai. I just needed to show then a document that we're not part of a criminal activity." Kuroko replied as he then took out a small printed document letter to show to an Anti-Skill officer, who examines his records. In Academy City, the city limits leading outside are lined with walls, accessible only through entry points which require persons to have permission to enter or leave the premises. For vehicles, infrared seekers and MRI scanners are used to check vehicles. The image of safety and trustworthiness is the forefront of Academy City's concerns, but information was strictly monitored and controlled below the surface. Many systems were laid out throughout the city in the name of preventing the approach of any terrorists or spies, be they industrial or working for a nation's government.

After being cleared to leave, the two continued to take their journey as Kuroko increased the speed of his motorcycle in hopes that they can still catch up to the morning sessions of the practice drills at Seirin High School.

"Can I ask a favour from you, Kiyoshi-senpai?" Kuroko suddenly called out even as his whole gaze is towards the road. "Everything supernatural especially that battle that you saw in Academy City—can we just keep it to ourselves? Aside from some protocol, I don't want Kagami-kun and the others to worry."

"Sure, Kuroko. You can count on me." Kiyoshi assured him of his silence as they continued their silent and peacefull journey as only the sound of the engine of the Kawasaki motorcycle can be heard cutting in the air whenever they pass in the road.

* * *

At Seirin, the sounds of sneakers squeaking could be heard echoing from inside the gym, which meant that the basketball team was training. They were all sweating but for Kagami, he felt like he was about to lose a lot of his body fats. The Coach Riko made him run laps outside, plus she added extra laps into his training menu. When he returned inside the gym, he still had to do five sets of sprints but he ended up doing ten because he thought it would help increase his jumping power. All in all, Kagami was tired—or rather, exhausted.

"Everyone is working hard." Hyuga casually commented after taking a break in the sidelines. "Even that Bakagami is also taking it very hard."

"Now that you said it…" Izuki joined him as he quickly pulls out a water jug. "I wonder how the training of Kuroko in Academy City is going on. It's been a month and a half since we last saw him. A lot of things can happen in that period of time."

"Hmmmm…" Koganei put his right hand in his chin as he tried to envision what a certain tealnette has done. "Maybe Kuroko has trained himself to become not only a Phantom but also to become a ghost. Hehehe. His misdirection would evolve into some much more ghostly."

Mitobe can only shake his head in disapproval as he sat in the sidelines to make sure that he would be able to change his clothes properly.

"That's so mean, senpai. I don't plan to become a ghost."

Everyone suddenly stopped practicing the moment they heard his voice. At that time, it was what a typical student would have expected of the Seirin basketball club. Kagami was too busy dunking the balls, Hyuga was in tip-top shape with the way he makes his shots, Izuki annoying the hell out of everyone with his puns, Mitobe and Koganei busy communicating despite the latter one doing most of the talking (since hook shooter haven't even said anything yet nor does he plan to) and the abnormally normal trio of Furihata, Fukuda, and Kawahara currently talking with one another.

Still, even if the team was noisy, the moment that certain person had opened his mouth, the Seirin basketball team stopped their activities and simultaneously averted their gazed to the newcomer. Kagami stopped dunking the ball and instead, looked at the person with shock. Izuki shut his mouth as it seemed someone familiar has finally returned home. Hyuga and Koganei stopped chatting.

"Gya! Kuroko!" All the seniors, sans Kiyoshi who was following the tealnette closely behind, screamed in an outrageous shock. "Don't do that!"

"I'm sorry, captain." Kuroko politely bowed as he was still in his leather jacket although he was holding his motorcycle helmet in his hands.

"Kuroko! You're back!" Kagami said ecstatically as he ran to greet his shadow, partner, and fellow second year. Soon, all the second years in the team all went out their way to greet him.

"Kagami-kun, it's been a while." Kuroko replied softly with a small smile.

"There he is!" Furihata exclaimed, "How's the training in Academy City? We were actually worried about you ever since that freaky night you called us to give some meaning to those archaic words you sent us."

"It's good to see you again, Kuroko." Fukuda said.

"Neh, Kuroko, why do you have a motorcycle helmet?" Kawahara pointed to the black full-faced helmet the passing specialist is holding.

But before Kuroko can even answer, Riko, who just came back from getting some heating pads in the clinic, immediately detected her usually invisible player and she immediately scooted to where the tealnette is standing. "Kuroko-kun! Teppei! It's good to see you two came back early. Now…" Riko smiled evilly as she walks closer to the tealnette, who is staring to her blankly. "Now, I don't know what's up with you during your training in Academy City, Kuroko-kun but you better keep good to your promise or else…" She cracked her knuckles, causing almost everyone to shiver in in fear.

"Don't worry, coach." Kuroko calmly replied. "I have kept good to my promise."

"Well, no more chit-chat, boys!" Riko sighed before barking an order to her mules. "You all don't want to get in trouble with my fists, right? Now, get back to your drills!"

"Yes!" Everyone said as Kuroko removes his leather jacket, exposing the physical education uniform of a certain high school that exposes his collarbone. But due to this, Kagami was suddenly taken aback by what he saw when the tealnette raised up his leather jacket. Riko must have also been surprised by what she saw as her chestnut orbs widens.

 _Was that….a tattoo?_ Kagami thought as he stared at the dragon-like ink figure in Kuroko's collarbone. _And it wasn't even there the last time he was here!_

"Ku-Kuroko-kun?" Riko was taking all of her energy not to slap the tealnette with her paper fan. "Since when did you have a tattoo?!"

When she said this, everyone looked around so fast, they could've gotten whiplash. They were simply aghast to hear something outrageous. The moment Kuroko looked down and saw it, he then turned to Riko and Kagami while blinking as if he remembered something, forgetting about a certain tattoo that a certain Forehead Deluxe tried on him using Henna dye as some sort of an experiment in one of their classes.

"Ah…actually, this tattoo is not permanent." Kuroko explained so as to avoid getting a severe punishment. "This is made by some acquaintance. This is a special dye made specifically in Academy City's School District 17."

"Oh…" Suddenly, Kiyoshi opened his mouth and accidentally dropped a topic Kuroko didn't expect to hear while they are now in Seirin. "Isn't that the district where Kamijou and Accelerator fou—"

Kuroko cut him off gently by stepping on his right foot. Kiyoshi winced in pain but in a splint second, he remembered what he promised to Kuroko when they were going home and he clamped his mouth shut.

"Ah! Sorry! Sorry!" The Iron Heart chuckled. "I was just imagining things…"

Riko looked at the two of them with a hint of both suspicion and curiosity but she decided to drop it off for now. The Winter Cup was a more important matter for her. "Hnn. Well, lads! Go back to your training! Kuroko, you also—"

"Anou…actually…" Kuroko raised his hand up as. "If you don't mind, I'm doing a separate training menu for now. It's something my cousin recommended for me."

"Oh…really?" Riko didn't expect such request from the usual obedient player. "Well…as long as it won't disrupt your plays with the team and it would help you in the long run, then I would let you off for now, Kuroko-kun."

She then turned to the rest of the team and blew her whistle. "Continue!" The rest of the team then continued running as Kuroko was in his plain white t-shirt and Seirin shorts. But if there is any difference from his pre-Academy City self, he was wearing basketball leggings for the first time since he started playing the sport. It was recommended by Shirai, who said that these type of garment helps in improved circulation and mechanics. According to her, compression garments may reduce muscle oscillations which will theoretically optimize the contraction direction of muscle fibers, resulting in improved mechanical efficiency and running kinematics. It also helps in keeping muscles warm to prevent muscle strain, wicks sweat away from the body to prevent chafing and rashes, relieve pain from muscle stiffness and soreness and reduce the time taken for muscles to repair themselves.

This alone caused some unwanted attention coming from Hyuga, who never saw Kuroko wear any type of gear prior to this.

But that was not the only change they noticed from the tealnette.

"Eh?! Looked at Kuroko's abdomen!" Koganei shrieked. "He's now sporting four-pack abs!"

Stunned at what they heard, Kagami, the second years, and all the seniors were staring at their teammate and indeed, Kuroko's muscles were showing which is already a surprise, considering that he had a skinny frame before. And before they can even react further, they watch the tealnette put on earphones before he brought out the one last thing they can even think of.

"Eh? Leg weights?!" The trio of Furihata, Kawahara, and Fukuda were gaping as they watch the Phantom Sixth Man begin to jog around the whole gym. Quickly returning to their drills at the middle of the court, they silently watch as Kuroko was humming some tune although his face remained blank. Then the biggest shock of their lives came.

Kuroko suddenly took a lying basketball and as he dribbled it, he then remembered some words of Shirai.

 _You came here with a weak stamina and poor fundamentals so we'll fixed that. But there was one thing that caught my eye with your current condition. Your hands are abnormally quick and didn't you think that you can do much to improve your ball-handling? In fact you can actually do streetball with that, Tetsu-nii! Didn't you used to do magic tricks when I was younger? The ball handling should be another thing that you can do!_

Kuroko was dribbling rather fast with his left and as he neared the three-point line, he stunningly made a behind-the-back dribble as he passed the ball to his right hand. And as soon as he was about to manoeuvre, he put the ball in the floor as he stepped back his left leg followed by his right before making a simple but accurate straight shot as the ball swished through the hoop.

Kuroko panted after that move. He was still not used to having the ball that long although due to what Shirai thought him (and with his experience with Aomine, Akashi, and to some extent, Kise), he was now trying to accustomed himself to shoot the ball (and if possible and necessary, ballhog it) when push comes to shove. _All for the sake of my Personal Reality and to return the love of basketball to the Generation of Miracles…_

He then raised his eyes in curiosity when he noticed that somehow, the temperature had dropped and as he looked on, he noticed his teammates all looking at him with faces ranging from uncertainty to astonishment. Kiyoshi, for obvious reasons, had a smile as Riko hilariously dropped her whistle from her mouth.

"Anou…coach, is there something wrong?" Kuroko "innocently" asked as he tilts his head.

"Ku-Kuroko! Since when can you shoot normally, much less a behind-the-back dribble before the jump shot in the three-point line?!" Kagami stammered as he wanted some answers from the tealnette. "You can't even make a layup before! How did you…"

Seeing the reactions of his light and his teammates, Kuroko sighed. He knew that in order for this non-sense to stop, he must answer their questions—although not necessarily _true_. "Kagami-kun, I'm not Aomine-kun or even Kise-kun but at the very least, I can do something similar to theirs but not as flashy as theirs. The point here is, if my newly-improved misdirection fails against teams like Touou, then I'll have to resort on having the ball as a last and final option when every means have been used and exhausted to its usefulness. By having the ball, Kagami-kun and I can actually have more options as I pass to him. Kagami-kun will still be the focus of our offense but if anything goes haywire, we would have Hyuga-senpai and the rest to support our ace and my light. As for me, I'll have to keep it down for the moment."

After finished speaking, Kuroko ignored the stares of his classmates as he picks up the ball. Looking at the ring on the other side of the court, Kuroko actually let off a small smile as he gets the ball and began to dribble fast. When he neared the painted area of the ring, Kuroko suddenly leaped but instead of going for a layup, he ducked as if he avoided getting blocked behind before he makes a bouble-clutch layup as the weights in his legs drags him down rather quickly.

 _This weight are indeed heavy._ Kuroko sighed as he shakes his legs. _But once you get used to it, its benefits far outweighs the pain._

But before he can actually move, he felt his shoulders looked like someone gripped tightly on him. Looking at his back, he froze as he saw their coach, who looked like she was going to act like a crazed woman denied of her lover.

"KU. RO. KO. KUN." Every syllable dropped looked like venom as the Riko's grip on her poor player only squeezed deeper. "I needed to have your cousin's digits…"

"Ah…but coach…" Kuroko tried to reason out but it seemed Riko didn't heard him while the rest of the players all pitied him but they couldn't even move as they all detected the evil aura surrounding her.

"This isn't just an opportunity! It's a once in a lifetime chance!" Her frightening sweet smile was just plainly evil at best. "Based from what I saw for today, it looks like we needed the services of your cousin if we want to seal our chances of winning the Winter Cup. We needed to have your cousin's arsenal of training menus and tactics! If you need it, we'll bribe or even seduce her, I don't care! As long as we can train the players under her care!"

Kuroko sweatdropped at the enthusiasm of Riko. "Coach, please don't so such underhanded tactics especially against my favourite cousin. Nevertheless, I'll see what I can do since I already told you that she usually takes only one-on-one lessons."

After that episode, the remaining time went on as practice was underway. Kuroko was busy training his dribbling while Kagami was practicing in improving his jump shots, especially in the three point line. After practice, they called it a day and they had all went out. It should have been a normal dismissal for Kuroko but at this point, this is where all of his teammates once again began to grill their passing specialist.

"So Kuroko, where the hell did you get that motorcycle?" Kagami asked, leading the others to look as to where Kuroko was standing. True enough, they spotted the black Kawasaki motorcycle near the tealnette and this only fuelled speculations and suspicious talks that even Riko, who was busy talking with Hyuga, joined into the commotion.

"Hey, that's an Enduro-type motorcycle!" Kawahara screeched as he points the vehicle.

"And it looks like it can handle even the toughest terrains." Izuki added while looking impressed with the new vehicle. "So that's why Kuroko have a leather jacket and a motorcycle…"

"Kuroko-kun, you can drive that kind of motorcycle?" Their coach asked.

Kuroko sighed as he realized this day wasn't going to end in a peaceful manner. "Coach, senpais, this motorcycle was given to me by someone in the training center." He twisted his facts a bit. "And yes, I can drive a motorcycle."

Wordlessly, Kuroko wore his balaclava and his full-faced helmet as his teammates watched him with weird faces.

"One thing's for sure…" Koganei began to speak. "That thing looked a hundred times faster than coach's small scooter…"

Every one of the boys would have almost agreed wholeheartedly if it wasn't for Riko smacking the Jack-of-all-Trades in his scalp and face.

"Hey, Kuroko-kun." Riko asked in a sweetly voice after beating the crap out of Koganei. "Next time, when I go to the mall to buy some dietary supplements, I think I needed to use that fancy motorcycle of yours…"

 _Uhm…I think she's just interested with Kuroko's dirt bike!_ Hyuga mentally screamed.

"Sure coach. Anytime, you can borrow this as long as you don't destroy it." Kuroko then waved and as he pushed the gas, the smoke belched directly in front of Kagami, who nearly choked in the dark combustion. He then sped off, not even caring the comments coming from his teammates.

* * *

It was supposed to be a charming summer day at Oowarai Hot Springs in the Wadatsumi beach house at Kanagawa Prefecture.

The water was clear, the seagulls were calling, and the shore had all but been abandoned by everyone except a single party of people. That party of people was none other than the God of Pestilence in Kamijou Touma as well as the Sister-in-training and the keeper of 103, 000 magical books in Index. The silver-haired nun was off playing in the shallows of the beach while the spiky haired boy inland. Kamijou was laying under a large umbrella while he was dozing off.

"Touma!" The nun called her partner to play with her in the shores as Kamijou slowly woke up.

 _Right now, I am away at Academy City with none other than Index._ Kamijou sighed as he watched the nun splashed herself in the cold water. _Obviously, this wasn't voluntary on my part. If Kuroko was my companion, then things would have been better but then…_

He then realized that they just ended here for some odd reason. "And just based from the name of the place, I had a bad feeling about it."

If Kamijou were to be honest, he wasn't all too excited to go on this vacation when he was first ordered to by Komoe Tsukuyomi. After all, that meant pushing back on remedial classes and not getting as much summer assignments done as he would have liked. Even the sudden arrangement of seeing his parents on the trip wasn't doing much for him. Add to that, his departure fell on the same day that Kuroko and Kiyoshi had to return back to the main Tokyo area. If he was just there, he would have sent him off with some souvenir.

"Hey, Touma!" Index suddenly showed up as she was hiding something behind his back. "I found a cute hat and I'm going to give it to you as a present."

"S-Sure…"

"Here you go!"

Unfortunately, it was at this point that he realized why the beach was so empty.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a sign on the beach warning its patrons about the recent jellyfish infestation. Soon after, he found out that what Index had found was not actually hat but one of the many jellyfish swarming the waters and she had just dropped in on his face.

What followed next was a lot of stinging and screaming of pain.

After he was able to get the jellyfish off his face, the duo quickly evacuated back to the resort they were staying at and requested their first aid kit. Kamijou now sat on the floor of their room while the wife of the lodge's owner treated the many sting marks and electron burns he got from the jellyfish incident. The entire time, Index apologized the causing so much trouble as she had never seen a jellyfish before and had no idea of how dangerous they could be.

"Such misfortune for you after you immediately arrived in this place." The old woman huffed. "This year's jellyfish season came quite early though and thanks to that, we have no guests. "

As she finished treating Kamijou's injuries, the owner of Wadatsumi stopped by the room and gave them some rather disappointing news. Apparently, the party set to join them, consisting of the Kamijou parents and their niece (and Kamijou's cousin) Tatsugami Otohime, would be running late and not arrive until tomorrow. Kamijou pretty much understood about the news while Index couldn't help but whine a little.

That night, while everyone was in their respective gender's bath houses, Index dropped a bombshell to his partner, who was on the male side of the hot spring.

"Hey, Touma!"

"Yeah?"

"What kind of people are your parents?"

"What kind? Uhmmm…"

"I'm really looking forward to seeing your parents…hey Touma! Are you listening?!"

"I am. You'll find out tomorrow so don't worry."

"You're being a meanie again! How much could it hurt to tell me now?! And you're always so cold, so cruel, so blunt, so rude, so brusque, so indifferent, so unregretful, so hard to grasp—"

 _Geez, if only Kuroko is here…_ Kamijou sighed as he covered his ears to protect his eardrums from Index's rocket assault of her voice.

That night, the party slept peacefully in their hotel room. However, Kamijou remained awake, unseen from behind the curtain that separated him from the girls.

"Heck, will they find out I lost my memories?" He suddenly pent out his frustrations as he slowly closed his eyes.

* * *

The next morning, Kamijou woke up to the sound of the hotel phone ringing as if acting like an alarm clock.

Reluctantly, the spiky haired boy picked up the phone and answered, moderately surprised that it was the owner of the lodging who was on the other end of the line. Apparently, his dad had called ahead and told their staff that he was on his way and they in turn, told Kamijou over the phone. With news of his parents' arrival, the boy got out of his futon and exited his corner of the room to find Index still asleep, snoring like a piglet. Somehow unfazed by the sound of the phone ringing, she was still under her blankets, only stirring slightly. Smiling to himself, Kamijou decided to leave the nun be.

After cleaning himself up a little bit and changing out of his sleeping wear, Kamijou stepped outside waited just outside the hotel door. He was greeted with a sunny summer day, perfect for a family reunion. Not too long after stepping outside, Kamijou Touma spotted a man walking up the path. The man appears as a middle-aged guy, probably around his thirties, and sported a stubble. He had the same build as Kamijou Touma's and, to his little surprise, he looks just like him.

Without a doubt, it was the Kamijou patriarch, Kamijou Touya, Touma's father.

"Touma!"

To Touma's shock, Touya just called him out as the latter increased his pacing.

"You look good." The older Kamijou tapped his son in his shoulder. "Anything different?"

"Just fine, dad." Kamijou chuckled.

"Ah, that's right. I wanted to hand you something." Touya was digging in his pockets. "I went to India on my last business trip. This is a souvenir, a local deity called something…" He showed what looked like a statuette of Ganesha, the Elephant God in Hinduism.

"Ah, thanks dad." Kamijou Touma somewhat replied as he got the figurine.

"What's the matter? It's as if you're meeting me for the first time."

"Eh…ah…" Touma somewhat stuttered before he came up with an excuse. "I'll take your bag."

"Take mom's and Otohime-chan's, as well. I'm sure they'll be here soon. We'll wait here."

The two Kamijou men stood side by side, awaiting the arrival of the rest of their family. As they waited, Touma glanced over at his father, lost in though. _This person is my father._ This man was his biological father but he still felt like only an acquaintance. There was just so much that was lost in a certain accident that not even Kuroko Tetsuya would be able to help him recover his memories.

"Sorry about out arrival," Touya apologized, "We were supposed to get here last night. You know, we just moved so we don't know where things are."

"Moved?" Touma asked in a confused manner.

"We went over this on the phone last month."

"Ah…yeah..."

"Onii-chan!"

Soon enough, Touma could see a young girl running up the path towards the hotel. She yelling his name at the top of her lungs, clearly excited to see him. _No doubt, this was my little cousin, Otohime._

But as soon as she was close, he felt something strange.

Her face was not that of a stranger but someone whom he knew fully well.

It was the face of Misaka Mikoto.

Kamijou Touma's cognitive thought went into complete freeze as the girl looking like Misaka threw herself into his arms. He just stood there with a blank look on his face as the young girl cuddled her face into his chest.

"Ahh, onii-chan! I wanted to see you badly!" The girl who looks like Misaka lovingly said. "Hey, Touma-oniichan! Take me to the sea later! The sea! C'mon, please?!"

"Just hold it!" Touma exploded as he desperately tried to get her off from his chest.

"What, onii-chan?"

Kamijou Touma then questioned his dad, who just gave him an awkward smile. "That's your cousin, Otohime-chan."

"And I was happy to come along!" the girl Touya claimed to be Otohime cheered as she gave her cousin another hug.

"Come on, quit it! Enough with the hugging," Kamijou Touma begged as he tried to pry the girl off.

"Come now, Touma-san, there's no need for that," Another voice said from just down the path, "Otohime is just really happy to see you because it's been so long."

Looking in the direction of the voice, the spiky haired boy was shocked to see Index walking the path. She had the same sliver hair and blue eyes but now wore a season appropriate sundress and hat as opposed to her usual Walking Church habit.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here?"

"Ara…ara…Touma-san is—"

"Weren't you sleeping like a pig in the room just now?!" Kamijou stood up in utter confusion and irritation. "Changing your clothing without me realizing it and teleporting, who are you, Shirai Kuroko and Kuroko Tetsuya? And what's with your obvious madam-like, senora-like way of speech?!"

"Watch your mouth, Touma!" Touya promptly warned his son. "What's with you? Talking like that to your mother."

"Huh?" Touma replied, "Dad, you're kidding me, right? You're saying that this girl, who looks like she'd get kicked out of a R-15 movie is my mother?"

"Ara…ara…" The woman claiming to be Shiina Kamijou said, "Touma-san, are you saying that your mom appears younger than her age?"

The air went silent for a good five seconds after everyone seemed to genuinely believe that the only strange thing was son of the two Kamijous. Realizing where he stood in the situation, Kamijou Touma couldn't help but laugh at this turn of events.

And suddenly, he exploded. "What's wrong?! Everything!"

After that uneventful family reunion (or so Komoe claimed), Kamijou went back marching to the Wadatsumi, he didn't expect more surprises that he'll be confronting.

When he went back to the hotel house, he noticed that the wife of the owner looked like one of the Misaka Sisters and the owner himself looked like Stiyl Magnus. In utter confusion, he then heard footsteps coming down and the moment that person came down, Kamijou nearly punched Aogami who is wearing and acting like Index had not been for Touya, who was able to restrain him.

But the weirdest part is that while everyone around him looked completely different and completely unrelated to the next turn of events, his dad still looks normal. Another issue is that is didn't seem like a prank he initially thought earlier. As someone constantly living a lie, Kamijou knew good acting when he saw it. The girl that looked like Misaka Mikoto was too composed about being affectionate with him. If it was really the real Railgun, the facade would have cracked the moment she jumped him since she's the violent type. In addition, the way the girl who looked like Index acted was exactly how one would expect a mother who has just found her missing child to act. There was no way that could have been an act, especially with Index (who, for someone who is a nun, lacked even the basic and common manners) as the actress.

It was all too much for Kamijou to take in at once. He didn't even hear his parents calling out to join them in the reunion. Instead, he made quickly made an excuse that he forgot something in the hotel and needed to take care of it right away. Passing by, he noticed the television where the supposed couples were watching and when he stopped momentarily, he nearly had his eyes socketed out as he saw his own teacher, Komoe Tsukuyomi, as a news caster. Worse, he even saw the cousin of his best friend now a talking as if she's the candidate for the US Presidential Elections.

Retreating to his room, Kamijou then dug out a video cam and his gaming laptop that he rarely used but was once borrowed by Kuroko when he needed to search some basketball techniques in relation to his training in Academy City. After sending a text to the tealnette, he then opened up a video chat room and invited Kuroko Tetsuya although it would be actually good if a certain Iron Heart joined in—for assurance. _Something magical is going down on here and as much as I don't want to do it, Kuroko's my only last hope in this case._

After a few minutes of waiting, a video feed appeared on screen. On the screen, Kuroko and to his surprise, Kiyoshi happened to have just arrived at their school for their basketball practice.

Of course, just like everyone else, they all looked like completely different people. And for once since this morning, he was glad since he knew it wasn't some kind of a prank or an imagination.

Thankfully, their response to his call made it clear who was who.

" _Kamijou-kun, good morning. What made you call us this early?_ " Kuroko asked in sheer curiosity.

" _Good morning, Kamijou!_ " Kiyoshi made his usual foolish grin.

"Good to see you, Kuroko, Kiyoshi-san." Kamijou returned the greeting. "Listen, I know that this sounds crazy but something bad is going on right now!"

" _Well of course, you're in a different place._ " Kiyoshi chimed.

" _I think he meant that in a literal sense, Kiyoshi-senpai._ " Kuroko deadpanned. " _What exactly is going on, Kamijou-kun?_ "

"Well, for some reason, nearly everyone in the world looks like someone else, but no one seems to be aware of it." Kamijou explained, "From what I observed, all the swaps are completely random. When my family arrived this morning, I was hugged to the death by my little cousin Otohime but what I wasn't expecting was for her to look like Misaka Mikoto, the Biri-Biri! I honestly thought it was her for a minute. But I don't think you would have been able to notice if you were here, Kuroko. It seems that only people who have not been affected notice the changes, and from what I'm seeing, you've all been affected."

" _So you're saying that we have swapped bodies even if we didn't realize it?_ " Kuroko almost let out a gasp.

"That's right." Kamijou confirmed, "I was able to tell from way you speak but you guys all look completely different and in a radical way."

" _So, who exactly do we all look like?_ " Kiyoshi asked.

"Let's see…" Kamijou hummed. "Kiyoshi-san, you actually grew even taller than before. Your hair is much longer and it's in color purple. You looked like you have a bored face."

The moment the spiky haired boy let out his comments, Kuroko and Kiyoshi can't believe at what they heard, the former because that exactly is the traits of one of his former Teiko teammates and the latter because he's exactly traits of the player who had once crushed him and his former middle school.

"Kuroko's hair is now red." Kamijou replied. "It looks like you dyed your hair but what's quite stunning is that you have heterochromatic eyes."

" _Oh…_ " Kuroko can only gasp further.

"Eh? You know the person?"

" _Sort of. So...do you want us to come there?_ " Kuroko offered. " _We can ask for permission._ "

"Well…if it won't hurt, then I guess I won't mind. In fact, I do need some moral support right now since this will make me crazy in the long run." Kamijou grimaced but was secretly thankful that at least, someone is coming to his rescue.

* * *

"Kuroko, konoyaro!"

Aida Riko can cursed out aloud as he watched his two players in the name of Kuroko Tetsuya and Kiyoshi Teppei begin to ride their motorcycle while the rest of the players were shivering in fear of their coach's early anger. A while back, practice had already commenced but as Kuroko was already getting ready for his drills, a ring in his phone was heard. As soon as he read it, he was slightly raising his eyebrows.

It's a text message from Kamijou Touma.

Apparently, the spiky haired boy was asking an emergency meeting with him through a video call and Kuroko complied. Ten minutes later, he and Kiyoshi, who accidentally walked into him as he was setting up his own laptop, went out of the scouting room with a serious expression and that's where they asked to be excused from the practice.

Of course, this only incensed Riko.

"Hnn. Coach, this is an emergency." Kuroko explained as he pleaded. "It's not like we wanted this to happen."

"Riko, please allow us to depart." Kiyoshi stepped in. "It's not like Kuroko slacks off from practice. Plus, it's really an emergency from someone in Academy City. You know how much that city helped one of your players."

Aida Riko looked like he was about to explode but seeing the puppy eyes Kiyoshi is pulling right now, she sighed as he can't bring herself to say no. "Fine! But since it's Kuroko we're talking about, we needed a third person to accompany you two! Kagami, go with them!"

"Eh?!" The redhead power forward was flustered in surprise. "But…"

The coach's cracking knuckles shut him up immediately as Kagami immediately joined the two. As a sign of respect with their partnership, Kiyoshi decided to flag a taxi instead outside as he handed Kagami the half-face motorcycle helmet. But as the three were getting prepared to leave, they were stalled by an unlikely stumbling block.

"Eh! Is that Midorima?!" One of the players in the background said.

True enough, Midorima Shintaro and Takao Kazunari, who is pedalling his bicycle, just came in a wrong time as Kuroko sighed. The Shutoku ace apparently went here to get some news on the tealnette and it seemed that he just came at the right moment.

"Hmmm. Just as I thought with my lucky item." He said as he squeezed a jade bracelet. "I see that you have returned, Kuroko Tetsuya. What's with you—"

"Midorima-kun, can we just talk another time? We needed to go to Kanagawa urgently." Kuroko obviously didn't have any time to talk with the left-handed shooter. "Kagami-kun, hold on now. We have to go—"

"Ku-Kuroko?" The shooting guard was a bit surprised to see his former teammate now actually driving a motorcycle. "Do you even know how to drive a motorcycle? I'm surprised that you actually own one."

"Can you just shut up! We have to go now!" Kagami roared, practically getting irritated with Midorima. "And Kuroko knows how to drive this thing! I'm actually surprised you Miracles freaks don't even know about it."

"Hmph. Not that I care but Akashi asked me to watch your movements, Kuroko." Midorima then walked closely to the two and then ordered something. "Kagami, get off the motorcycle. I'll be the one—"

"HAH?!" Now, the redhead was more infuriated as he was close to punching. "Who are you to order me?! If you want to follow Kuroko, get your own ride!"

Before Midorima had a chance to retort, Kuroko had already stepped into the gas and in an instant, the motorcycle zoomed fast that it almost hit Takao, who luckily was able to dodge for safety. The taxi carrying Kiyoshi also followed the Kawasaki bike.

"Takao."

"Y-Yeah?"

"We have to follow Kuroko. Pedal us to where he will go."

"Hah?! Shin-chan, there's no way I can catch up to a motorcycle, much less an Enduro-type dirt bike!"

Ignoring the protesting Hawk Eye user, Midorima pulled out his phone and began to contact someone. After a few rings, the one being called picked up.

" _Eh?! Midorimacchi?! This is rare! Why did you call me, though?_ "

"Kise. Meet us there in Kanagawa. Something is wrong with Kuroko."

* * *

 _ **Sneak peak for the next chapter!**_

 **Kuroko, Kagami, Midorima, Kiyoshi, and Takao meets Kamijou, Tsuchimikado, a powerful saint named Kanzaki Kaori, and Sasha Kreutzev of the Russian Orthodox Church. The tealnette sighed as he knew this wasn't going to end very well.**

 **And on a sidenote, Kise seemed to have also joined the Fray as he arrived at the Oowarai by night time after not being excused from Kaijo. As he goes by, he saw strange large circles in the sky. What could those be?**

 **See you in the next chapter!**


	11. Angel Fall

"Kuroko, I know you're good at driving dirt bikes but will you slow down?! I'm not used to this kind of speed!"

"I'm sorry Kagami-kun but you'll have to adjust and get used to it."

Currently, Kuroko and Kagami are in a road trip as the former turns left and his Kawasaki motorcycle smoothly but quickly transitions to the left curve of the road leading to Kanagawa. Not far from them, the taxi carrying Kiyoshi was following them although it was taking the driver all his power just to keep pace with the much-faster motorcycle that the shadow-and-light duo was using.

For some reason, Kagami had sensed that the silence that Kuroko is currently maintaining is different right now. Far different from how the tealnette is keeping that silence back when he hasn't made his trip in Academy City. The power forward can't put a finger on it yet but for some reason, he felt a big transition in his shadow's manners and secret.

It's as if he never knew the Generation of Miracles—or rather, he had simply abandoned his five former middle school teammates in favour for his new friends from the city of science.

"Kuroko."

"Yes, Kagami-kun?"

"I sensed that somehow, you've changed."

"Of course, I need to change, Kagami-kun." Kuroko made it sound like his partner was some kind of an idiot. "If I didn't improve my style, then…"

"Kuroko, that's not what I meant." Despite his reputation as an idiot, Kagami seemed to be sharp in perception. "What I meant is…uh…I don't know how to explain it but…it doesn't seem like you're the same person. Well…I mean is…you're driving an enduro-type motorcycle and you shut down Midorima just like that, not to mention that you had a dragon tattoo and all of the sudden, you started shooting like a normal player does. It's as if you had a 360-degree personality change."

"That sounds gibberish, Kagami-kun." Kuroko replied bluntly, earning a twitch from Kagami. "And the tattoo's temporary. Don't be stupid."

"Hey!"

"But about that so-called personality change, I don't think that's the right term." Kuroko clarifies as he squeezes and turns the handle. "Rather, it's the result of sacrificing your past self in order to create a new self. People dismiss it as mere delusion but when combined with hard work and dedication, it's possible."

"I still don't get you, sheesh." Kagami muttered in annoyance. "But was this the first time that you visited Academy City? You did mention that your cousin studies there."

At first, Kuroko didn't reply as he just kept squeezing the handles. The silence went on for ten minutes and Kagami can feel the tension as the strong wind from their travel began to be felt more distinctly in his face. It was after ten minutes of tranquil treatment that Kuroko replied to his partner. "Actually, this is the second time I went to Academy City. The first time that I went there, it was brief but will always be etched in my memory."

"Eh? How?"

"In my first trip to Academy City, I almost died."

The moment Kuroko mouthed off those ten words, Kagami nearly fell from the motorcycle in both shock and surprise at the blunt reply of Kuroko.

"Eh? How the hell did that happened? And why are you acting like it's nothing serious?!"

"It's all in the past so I don't feel anything much about it but…" Kuroko abruptly trailed off before continuing. "During that first visit, me and my father rode a spaceplane called the Spaceplane Orion. It was built by a company in Academy City called Orbit Portal Company. In fact, there was a rumor that I heard concerning the company; it was building a space elevator that would reach past the mesosphere. In fact, I still had that blue bracelet that was given for free as part of that year's celebration of its test flight. But the flight did not sailed smoothly as expected."

"Let me guess." Kagami butted in. "Some crazy guy hijacked that Orion spaceplane and almost sent you all crashing down to Earth."

"Not even close but if I remember correctly, the left wing engine of the plane caught on fire and if it wasn't for that strange phenomenon that somehow engulfed us, then I might not be even driving you in Kanagawa right now." Kuroko explained blandly. "But even before that, just being able to fly to space is somewhat an accomplishment…"

"Fly to space, huh?" Kagami then looked at the urban houses surrounding the road that they were taking. "I thought those things can only happen in comics and sci-fi shows and movies."

"That's always the first opinion of a visitor in Academy City." Kuroko nodded. "Actually, even I had those thoughts when I first entered the place. Maybe the saying "thirty years ahead" does fit Academy City the best. Unlike here, that city had cleaning robots as well as very advanced subjects such as quantum physics, psychoanalysis etcetera etcetera."

"Then I guess I should have landed there, Kuroko."

"Kagami-kun, you're poor academic performance here won't help you land even the lowest school in Academy City."

"Sh-Shut up!"

After a few minutes, Kuroko had announced as the view surrounding them changed from bustling streets and tall skyscrapers into small villages, wet paddy fields, and the most obvious of all, the wide beach facing the Pacific Ocean. "Kuroko, are we near our supposed destination?"

"Yes, Kagami-kun. This should be Oowarai Hot Springs. I can see the Wadatsumi not far from here." Kuroko replied as he finally slows down the speed of the motorcycle. "Once we get there, Kamijou-kun says that he'll meet us in the entrance."

"Oka—wait, who's Kamijou-kun?" Kagami asked, quite bewildered.

"Kamijou Touma-kun. He was my practice partner in Academy City when I stayed there." Kuroko replies. "Well, here we are."

He then parked the motorcycle after gradually slowing down to a halt as he and Kagami dismounts from the Kawasaki vehicle. At this point, the taxi that was carrying their other Seirin teammate had also stopped and Kiyoshi got out of the vehicle after paying for the fee.

"Well…let's have some fun…" Kiyoshi chuckled as he joins his two underclassmen.

But even before they can move a step, the three suddenly heard what looks like a rustling sound of a rusty wheel and cog being scratched hard on the floor. When the three turned around, Kuroko sighed as to see who it was.

"You really had to follow me here…"

Kuroko can only shake his head in disapproval.

"…Midorima-kun…"

* * *

Kamijou Touma kept walking back-and-forth in the rendezvous where he and a certain tealnette had agreed to meet upon.

The rest of the day should have went so well for someone who had a free vacation—except for the fact that the body swap of his whole family and everyone in his family was already taking a toll in his insanity. _I think I need a vacation from this craziness._

"Kamijou-kun!"

"Huh?"

"Kamijou-kun!"

Suddenly raising up his head at hearing the familiar voice, Kamijou was more than giddy to finally see that help is finally arriving at the person in Kuroko Tetsuya, whom he was able to identify his quirks despite having a different appearance as he came running towards the embattled spiky haired boy. But aside from his joy, Kamijou also felt a bit conflicted and confused when he saw that Kuroko brought along four other people. Well, he knew Kiyoshi would come along at the end but the other three was unexpected.

"Uhm…Kuroko…who the hell are they?"

Kamijou blinked as he particularly points at Kagami and Midorima, who had a scowl in his face.

"Anou…they actually forced their way to come with me." Kuroko sighed, knowing all along that this would be an issue that wouldn't go unnoticed. "By the way, the redhead one is Kagami- Taiga-kun and the green—"

"Uh…Kuroko…I don't see anyone having red hair. Well, apart from you of course…"

"What foolishness are you saying? This idiot here had a red hair." Midorima, not even realizing the situation they were currently in, spat out while he didn't even had the initiative to give his name first.

"Midorima-kun…actually, there's some truth to what Kamijou-kun says…" Kuroko realized that he'll have to explain this to the three others (Kiyoshi is an exemption) without having to fully reveal what really lies in Academy City. "Kamijou-kun, tell me, what do you see?"

"What do I see? Uhm…" Kamijou then looked straight at Kagami. "That guy that you called Kagami-kun had tan skin and blue hair. He looks like he wanted to kill someone since his fists are enclosed…"

The moment Kagami heard what the spiky haired boy replied, he nearly dropped his mouth hilariously as he stared at the Kamijou. "The hell?! What makes you think I'm like Aomine?! I never like that basta—"

"Kagami-kun, that's enough." Kuroko hushed his light down. He then asked Kamijou once again. "Kamijou-kun, what do you see?" He then points at Midorima, who was a bit surprised by the actions of his former Teiko teammate.

"Uhm…" The Imagine Breaker wielder hummed as he observed the supposed tall megane—or at least, that wasn't the case for him. "He's sporting a blonde hair and he had a piercing in his left ear. Uhm…it looks like he's radiating so much that I might actually get blind. He is also wearing a blue—"

"What the hell, nanodayo?!" Midorima felt offended the moment he heard the comments of Kamijou. "Why would I even look like that baboon in Kise?! What's wrong with your sense of perception that…"

"Midorima-kun…" For some reason, Midorima felt a cold voice coming out from Kuroko's voice and he can't help but wonder. _Was it my imagination or was it just the wind blowing right in my face?_ For the first time in his life, he felt a shudder that isn't because he didn't get his lucky item for the day.

"It's not his fault why he kept seeing strange things. There's…" Kuroko was inwardly struggling on how to explain that there must be something magical that is happening right now. "But for now, let's investigate. Kamijou-kun, lead the way."

"Uh…right…"

But as everyone was walking behind the duo of black and blue, Takao, whose legs was shaking from pedaling just to keep up with Kuroko's motorcycle, suddenly shouted. "Hey! How come no one asked what I looked like?!"

* * *

"Please senpai! Please, Kasamatsu-senpai!"

"I said no, Kise!"

Kasamatsu Yukio was beginning to get irritated and this was just the start of their training in the morning.

The reason: Kise Ryota, their team ace, was requesting to leave their practice for the moment.

"But Kasamatsu-senpai…" Kise suddenly sprang up in his feet and began to shake the shoulders of his captain, who was suppressing his urge to punch Kise in the face. "I needed to go! Midorimacchi said that something is wrong with Kurokocchi and we…"

"What happens to him isn't your business!" The shorter player roared as he violently removes the hands of Kise from his shoulders. From the background, Moriyama Yoshitaka, the underhanded shooting guard and flirt, can only sigh as he knew this isn't the best time to suddenly piss of Kasamatsu as they were in in tight practice. Their bigman, Kobori Kouji, also thought the same as he dunks the ball.

"Please, Yukio-seeenpai! I needed to…"

 _Twack!_

That was the last straw for the steely-eyed point guard as he promptly kicks Kise in his butt after the blonde called him by his first name, snapping out whatever little patience he had for the energetic but annoying small forward. All the regulars in the team can't help but watch and pity their ace, who was disgracefully sent crashing down in the floor and ending up smacking his own face in the basketball post hilariously.

"Kise! One more time that you call disrespect me and don't expect to get even a lenient treatment for your modeling gig!"

* * *

"Judging by the place, I'm pretty sure that you also called Kise-kun, no matter how much you deny it."

 _There it is again._ Midorima inwardly flinched as Kuroko called out to him with a seemingly cold and hostile voice. Although he made an effort to hide his shock, the lefty shooter can't help but think as to why Kuroko suddenly began to talk like this.

"Hmph. What I do doesn't matter to you Kuroko." Midorima huffed as he squeezes his lucky item. "You know that our blood types…"

"Do not match. Is that what you want to say?" Everyone suddenly stopped walking as Kuroko abruptly halted. "Then it's fair to say that what is happening here is also none of your concern, Midorima-kun. For someone who claims to hate me, you sure do have the energy to make an effort to follow us here in Kanagawa. The fact that you even made Takao-san pedal all the way here from Tokyo is simply absurd."

"Don't be stupid like Aomine or Kise, Kuroko." Midorima tensed as he tried to put a tough façade because deep inside, he knew that what his former middle school teammate said is true. "Like I said before when I called you back then, Akashi forced me into it. He—"

"Don't be stupid too, Midorima-kun." Kuroko replied back in his own blank expression. "Didn't Akashi-kun made it clear that we're no longer teammates so what gives him the right to order you around? Are you becoming his lapdog?"

"What did you say, nanodayo?!" Midorima felt incensed when he heard what Kuroko described to him. You—"

"O-Oi! Quit it!" Kamijou Touma intervened to prevent things from going ugly between the two former members of the Teiko middle school basketball team as Kagami, who was a silent witness to it all, couldn't react but basically began to have an idea of what Kuroko's middle school experience was like. "Kuroko! We're here to investigate the magical phenomenon, not to pick out a fight."

Kuroko looked at Midorima straight in the eye before sighing as they resumed walking up in the stairs which it would lead them to the Wadatsumi house. But it wasn't long before they spotted something weird from afar.

A bit further up, there was a girl in extremely peculiar and suspicious clothing. The outfit consisted of a red hood and cloak that covered her eyes and back, a black body suit made from bands of fabric, and jagged and mixed armor-like lamellar clothing of metal braces and chains. The figure looked so weird that Takao's eyes even grew like saucers while Kagami and Kiyoshi, who were silent for the most of the time, also flinched at the sight.

 _Kamijou Touma knows. He knows from experience._ Kamijou smirked as he thought he finally found the answer to his problem. _Even if it's not in my memories, he knows that people that show up in these crazy cosplays are usually his acquaintances. And thus, in these situations, the attitude I should take is_ —"

"Yo!" Kamijou called out to the strange girl, not even hearing Kuroko's warning of not getting to near. "Long time no—"

He never got the change to finish his sentence as all of the sudden, he found himself suddenly at the mercy of the girl, who brought out what looked like a butcher's knife with jagged and sharp ends. He's now in a very perilous situation and as much as Kuroko wanted to help, he cannot do so out of the shock at what he saw. The reactions of the four other basketball players are also the same as Takao's heart almost jumped at the sight of the knife.

"Question no. 1: Are you the spellcaster?" the girl asked coldly.

"Ehhhh?" Kamijou stuttered, frozen in shock.

"Asking question no. 1 again." The girl pressed on. "Are you the spellcaster?"

"Ahhhh…ehhh…"

"Please wait!"

Fortunately, death hasn't been able to swiftly cut Kamijou's life short.

"It is rash to say that this young man is the suspect."

"Hmph, glad that we made it in time."

Kamijou and the five basketball players all turned their heads upward to see two figure whom were supposedly familiar to the spiky haired boy. But due to a certain misfortunate event, he cannot comprehend who they were although Kuroko, seeing one of the two people, suddenly exclaimed. "Tsu-Tsuchimikado-kun?! What are you doing here?"

"Oh…look who Kuro-yan brought along here in our little mission." The glasses-wearing blonde mockingly pointed at Kagami and the three others, who were a bit offended by how he casually pointed them out. "Well, I supposed this is better, considering Kami-yan's lack of logic despite his powerful right hand. Kuro-yan's arrival would be a big help to us."

"Tsuchimikado!" Kamijou finally noticed his best friend.

"And he actually sees me properly as Tsuchimikado Motoharu." Tsuchimikado said, earning a nod from the slender girl.

"But the fact that he can properly recognize you must mean…" The katana-wielding girl tried to press the argument but Tsuchimikado waved it off.

"No, no, Nee-chin." The blonde retorted. "Do you see any traces of that on Kami-yan's body at all?"

The girl was about to retort when suddenly, her eye caught attention of Kuroko, who was eyeing at her with curiosity. As if she suddenly recognized the tealnette, the katana-wielding suddenly descended down and, after passing Kamijou and the knife-wielding girl, found quickly herself facing Kuroko. "Hmmm…you must be the Kuroko Tetsuya that I was hearing before."

Kagami and the other three shot an incredulous look at Kuroko, who was a bit surprised to hear his name from someone he didn't even know personally.

"I'm surprised that you know my name…anou…"

"I'm Kanzaki Kaori." The girl introduced herself. "I'm a member of the English Puritan Church's Necessarius."

"Necessarius?" Kuroko knew he cannot forget that name. "You mean you know Stiyl Magnus-san?"

"To my surprise, Stiyl does seem to speak highly of you—in his own gruffy way of course. It would be too out of his own character if he suddenly showers you with praises." Kanzaki explains. "From what I heard, you helped the two in defeating the first caretaker of the Library of Prohibited Books."

"You're talking about Index-san, right?" Kuroko replied, suddenly giving a small smile when he remembered his first encounter with the magic world. "And I exactly didn't help much to defeat Aureolus-san."

"Nevertheless, you helped in stalling him for a few minutes, enough for the two to prevent Aureolus from getting away." Kanzaki explains. "It does look like his alchemy is no match for your weak presence."

"Well…"

"Kuroko! What the hell?!" Kagami decided to barge into their conversation after hearing something he wasn't supposed to hear. "What is the meaning of this?! What is this battle she's—"

"No time to talk with someone who's ignorant and have no place with our affairs." Kanzaki coldly cut off the redhead, who was offended by what the katana-wielding lady called him.

"You—ouch!"

Kuroko suddenly slapped Kagami's face to keep him shut as he then sighs. "You're right Kanzaki-san. Let's focus on this matter first. Uhm, ojou-san, can you let Kamijou-kun go and introduce yourself?"

Having been given a reason not to threaten him anymore, the strange girl removed her knife from Kamijou's neck, allowing him to put some distance between himself and her.

"I am a magician from the Russian Orthodox Church, Annihilatus. I am Misha Kreutzev," the girl identified herself.

"Kuroko, it does seem that you made friends with weird people…" Midorima whispered.

"But you're weird too, Shin-chan." Takao shushed him.

"Wow, to be able to see a magician of Annihilatus here is amazing!" Tsuchimikado chuckled

"Question no. 1 – What evidence do you have to say that this man isn't the caster?" Misha began to grill them. "Question no. 2 – If not this man, who is the caster?"

"Wait, I can't tell what's going on here!" Kamijou shrieked. "And Tsuchimikado, what the heck are you doing here?!"

After some rather unnecessary jabs at his apparent immaturity and ignorance, Kamijou found himself at a seaside snack bar with the known sorceresses and his two friends in Kuroko and Tsuchimikado as Kagami, Kiyoshi, Takao, and Midorima took a seat in another table. While sitting down, it was explained that there was an imbalance in the natural ranking of all beings as a result of an unknown spell. This spell brought an angel down to the rank of humans, resulting in physical manifestations to be juggled around, creating the perspective of everyone have switched faces.

"Angel Fall, huh?" Kuroko sighed as he eats his own snack.

"Do you know the Three of Sephiroth?" Kanzaki asked.

"I think I've heard of that before." Kuroko replied. "I think that's a tree on Kabbalistic and Jewish mysticism that is actually a diagram used in various mystical traditions. It usually consists of 10 nodes symbolizing different archetypes and 22 lines connecting the nodes. The nodes are often arranged into three columns to represent that they belong to a common category. They say that the nodes are usually represented as spheres and the lines are usually represented as paths. The nodes usually represent encompassing aspects of existence, God, or the human psyche."

Kanzaki seemed to be impressed with the tealnett's stock knowledge. "It seemed that you're more useful than this other guy who lacks maturity."

Kamijou sighed at the magician's comment of him.

"But to think that an angel, if they do exist, causes this phenomenon just because it fell into the ranks of humans is simply mind-blowing." Kuroko felt a headache coming. "But what does this have to do with Kamijou-kun, may I ask."

The origin of this spell, according to Tsuchimikado and Kanzaki, appeared to be centralized around Kamijou himself, making him the target of sorcerers like Misha who sought to stop and reverse the spell. Thankfully, all of Misha's suspicions were relieved once Tuschimikado revealed to her the existence of Kamijou's Imagine Breaker and its properties. With Kamijou now clear of any charges, that meant that the caster was someone close to him and there was a ritual sight somewhere nearby. Thus, the only ways to stop Angel Fall was to destroy the ritual site, or the caster themselves. However, despite all the exposition, Kuroko realized that there is something weird with this picture as he eyed Tsuchimikado with both suspicion and surprise.

"Well then." Tsuchimikado concluded after Kamijou had just cancelled out Misha's water waves (much to the awe of the four basketball players who haven't seen this before, well, maybe except for Kiyoshi). "Even if you no longer have any suspicion on you, it is a fact that Angel Fall is centered around you. There is a high possibility that the caster is near Kami-yan and I'm sure that Kuro-yan and his band of clueless ball-hogging teammates have nothing to do with it as well."

"It is hard to imagine that a single caster is responsible for a spell of this circle." Kanzaki voiced out her concerns. "There must be a ritual location that has been a barrier or a magical seal deployed."

"We'd need to destroy the ritual location or defeat the caster himself. Those are the only two ways to stop this spell. And that's precisely where Kuro-yan actually comes in." Tsuchimikado smiled, much to the surprise of the tealnette. "Since he's neither an Esper nor a Magician, it looked like he would be able to help us track down and destroy the ritual site or neutralize the magician without having to raise suspicions back from Academy City. Kuro-yan, since you're already involved in this, I supposed you won't reject it. Take it as a payment for your basketball training in Academy City."

"Well, I don't plan to reject it since I know that I can help you guys but…" Kuroko looked at where Kagami and the rest were sitting and from the looks they were all giving, the passing specialist knew that they don't like at all what they just heard. Kiyoshi looked especially grim and this was understandable since he saw first-hand how Accelerator wreaked havoc with just one touch of his hand.

"Tsuchimikado-kun, I don't mean to offend you but there's something that is bugging me ever since seeing you here," Kuroko knew he had to tell him now. "What are you and how did you know this side of the world as well? And most of all, how do you know Kamijou-kun's Imagine Breaker?"

Tsuchimikado smirked as he removed his the spoon from his mouth while his dark shades glim with luster.

"Come on, Kuro-yan. It should have been obvious to you, by now." The blonde made a grin. "I'm also a member of Necessarius."

* * *

 _ **Sneak Peak for the next chapter!**_

 **Kuroko teams up with Kamijou, Tsuchimikado, Kanzaki, and Misha Kreutzev to help counter this spell. This doesn't go smoothly, though, because of the interference of Kagami and Midorima, who was baffled as to why the tealnette got involved in something as dark as this. Despite being threatened that Akashi will find out about this, Kuroko simply shrugged it off and said that come what may, not knowing that Tsuchimikado had actually a back-up plan of what to do with both Midorima and Takao so that this won't reach in the ears of Akashi Seijuro.**

 **Meanwhile, Kise, still getting bruised up from their captain's beatings, had to content himself in travelling at night time. By the time he reached Oowarai, there were the magical circles he saw from his travel. And suddenly, he saw Kuroko from afar seemingly holding what looked like a fire torch, as if he planned to burn something? What could this mean?**


	12. Kamijou Touya (and Midorima Shintaro)

As his family sat together in a lounge at the ground floor of the inn, Kamijou excused himself to join Kuroko and Kiyoshi in the ledge of his room, from which the light coming from the moon enters. Once they all got back to the Wadatsumi, he had the trouble of introducing Kuroko and Kiyoshi to his family. And for once, none suffered a mini-heart attack just from seeing Kuroko although this was because of the effect of the Angel Fall spell. And while they were introducing themselves, Kiyoshi had already called to Riko that they might not be back for a few days because of this emergency while Kagami begrudgingly agreed to buy some extra clothes and personal supplies from a nearby store since they would be staying here longer.

For someone who was sent outside to have some vacation, Kamijou Touma sure isn't enjoying his time right now.

First, almost his entire family got their appearances swapped thanks to that spell. Second, Kuroko and his entire company got involved as a result of it. Third, he learned that his bubbly and prankster friend in Tsuchimikado Motoharu was actually a double-spy working for Necessarius. Kamijou already knew that he's a misfortunate person but to think that he'll have three major dilemmas in one day (and at a vacation day, of all times) is just unbearable.

"Such misfortune." Kamijou sighed as he then looked at the Indian God that his father sent to him.

"I know how hard your situation now is, Kamijou-kun." Kuroko sympathized with him. "Although I didn't expect that I will swap bodies with my former captain of all people."

"Hnn. Battling Accelerator is still harder but this one would drive me insane, Kuroko." Kamijou sighed. "By the way, I apologize for dragging you all to this mess, especially that you even brought three more people with you."

"Nah. It's fine, Kamijou." Kiyoshi waved it off. "Although bringing along Midorima and Takao was something we didn't even plan. But then again, neither did we plan to bring Kagami as well."

"It would be better to keep out Midorima-kun and Takao-kun from this magical world." Kuroko looked at his senpai. "It would be inevitable to keep this from Kagami-kun or even from the rest of the Seirin team but at least, it wouldn't have to leak to the other Generation of Miracles."

"I get what you're saying but since Kuroko, from what I understand, this is a world between the Magicians and the Espers. Are you sure you can handle this yourself?" Kiyoshi didn't want to sound discouraging but he knew that the path his kouhai is threading is a bit dangerous. "You've fought both that Aureolus Izzard that I heard from the weird ninja girl and you also fought Accelerator. You've both got out of it alive but until when will your luck lasts?"

Kuroko blinked at the question of the Iron Heart. He knew that he was right.

 _Until when my luck lasts?_

"I…"

"Don't worry, Iron Heart. Kuro-yan will be just fine in our world along with Kami-yan."

Turning around, the spiky haired boy and the two Seirin players were mildly surprised to find Tsuchimikado in the doorway of the room. The deep-penetration agent flashed a smirk, as if he had been watching the three of them, particularly Kamijou, discuss something in the dark for a while. Kamijou simply turned his back to the blond by, focusing on the night sky visible from the window. Kuroko, though, just put up a fixed stare towards Tsuchimikado.

"It's true that Kuro-yan came from the basketball world but he had brains to understand both the magical world and the science world." Tsuchimikado explained. "In fact, had he studied in our tutelage, he could become a potential magician. But of course, that would make things a bit complex so it's best that he stays the way he is while learning knowledge beyond the reach of an ordinary man's education."

"Thank you, Tsuchimikado-kun." Was the only thing that the tealnette can manage.

"As for you, Kami-yan, you seemed to be fixated at that Indian god statuette." The blonde turned his snarky smile towards his friend, who seemed to be avoiding his gaze. "Well, replicas and statues have some enchanted power in them, ya know? That's the basic principle of idol worship."

"To think that you're a magician…" Kamijou finally spoke as he kept facing in the window. "It's just unbelievable."

"Technically, I was a magician. Not any more though," Tsuchimikado clarified, walking next to his fellow Level 0 and to Kuroko, "The best Onmyoudou professor in Necessarius who specialized in Feng Shui is now just a plain old human."

"Feng Shui and Onmyoudou, huh?" Kuroko hummed while drinking what looked like a canned energy drink. "All I know about it is that Feng Shui is a set of Chinese beliefs and principles that is aiming to create harmony with one's surroundings through the proper arrangement of objects and the siting and construction of establishments."

"Narrowing it down, Feng Shui is a magic system that focuses on the arrangement of things in a certain location to create a magic circle for a spell that activates the moment the circle is created, and its composition is dependent of its contents." Tsuchimikado reinforced Kuroko's idea. "The spell makes use of the energy of the world which we call ch'i rather than the spell caster's mana, as such, any person can create a spell using the principles of Feng Shui."

"So in an analogy, the power of the world is a generator, the spell caster is a transformer, and the magic circle is the circuitry, which is switched on the moment the magic circle is created." Kuroko put it correctly. "So it's like manipulating your surroundings in order to achieve an effect. Applied to terrain, this can be used to alter the mysterious elemental energy source that comes from the earth. In earthly terms, it's like using a machine that pumps out blood, which is the source of our life."

Tsuchimikado can't believe what he just heard although he didn't show it. Nevertheless, his facial expression confirms that what Kuroko explained with his stock knowledge is just how his magic works. "Ya know, Kuro-yan? I've began to wonder whether you're better off as a magician under Necessarius. For a novice like you, you have shown great understanding with our world. Perhaps, you're better suited as Kami-yan's sidekick."

"Thank you for the compliment but I don't think every magic would work against Kamijou-kun's Imagine Breaker." Kuroko humble stated his opinion. "It's just like some sort of limiter in his part."

"Actually, you're right in that part." Tsuchimikado chuckled, enjoying his conversation with Kuroko. "His right hand is his source of power yet it is also his source of picking up girls."

"Seriously, shut up." Kamijou muttered. "I'm not already having a good day. Do you have to rub it in my face. By the way, you're not going to join the others?"

"Don't act so hurt, Kami-yan. We still need you for this mission." Tsuchimikado grinned even more. "As for your next question, I wish I could but I can't. When Angel Fall was activated, Nee-chin and I cast seals on ourselves right away but we weren't able to avoid it completely. From the eyes of everyone that switched sides, I'm Hitotsui Hajime apparently."

"Hitotsui Hajime? That shallow idol?" Kamijou quickly recognized the name. "Then who's Kanzaki?"

"Hnn, now that you mentioned it…" Tsuchimikado chuckled a bit. "He looks like Stiyl."

"She's Stiyl?" Kamijou laughed aloud as he props in a nearby chair. "That's a good one! Wait, you just said that you casted a seal, right? Aren't Espers unable to use magic?"

"Yeah, that's why I'm messed up all over." Tsuchimikado showed his wounds, causing Kagami to almost vomit at the ghastly sight.

"Espers using magic, huh?" Kuroko hummed while sipping his canned drink. "Well, from the looks of it, it seemed like US servicemen putting on Soviet-made missiles in their airplanes which I doubt would work considering that they have different wirings and modes."

"It seemed that Kuro-yan hit the bull's eye again." Tsuchimikado put down his shirt. "Basically, if I use magic again, my blood vessels will burst, and bang! I'll be dead for sure. Of by the way, Kami-yan and Kuro-yan. The "Such Misfortune" cataphrase…try not to say it in front of Nee-chin. Opposite to your bad luck, she just can't tolerate her own misfortune."

"You must be kidding, right?" Kagami was bewildered at Tsuchimikado's statement. "Since when did good fortune became a problem?"

Kuroko sighed as he then realized that what Kanzaki Kaori is going through parallels that of Aomine. "Sometimes, good fortune is the reason why people ended up losing their own humanity." The tealnette explained for his not-so-smart light. "Because they ended up winning a lot, everyone else loses and sometimes, even a victor can bear the thought of always winning while everyone else loses."

"Speaking from experience, nya?" The blonde smirked, quickly catching on with Kuroko. "Well, you're partially right. In Nee-chin's case, there was an organization called the Amakusa, founded by hidden Christians in Japan. From the start, it was determined that Kanzaki-neechin was to be the Priestess of that Amakusa Church at birth. She's just one of the few Saints in this world capable of wielding a Stigma..."

"Anou...can you fill us what a saint is?" Kuroko pleaded.

"Curious, are we? Saints in the magic world are powerful people that are less than 20 individuals." Tsuchimikado explained. "Remember, humans are made from the image of God and Saints are said to be a higher replica that can bring out more strength. Let's put it this way: Saints in the Magic World, Level Fives in the Science world, and prodigies in your Basketball world. Although it's safe to say that your prodigies are still human while the two others are more supernatural in nature."

"I see…" Kuroko knew that Aomine could be a special case but still, he'd like to learn a lot from the outside knowledge.

"Speaking of Saints, Nee-chin apparently can't forgive herself for being born with that much fortune and blessing." Tsuchimikado grimaced as he faced the window.

"And why would that be a worry for her? She had talent. She should us whatever that talent is for greater purposes." Kiyoshi chipped in.

"I guess you won't understand it for now, Iron Heart." Tsuchimikado turned to face the Seirin center. "But that aside, I should say I'm somewhat amused to meet one of the Uncrowned Kings in basketball outside of Academy City. Actually, even in that place, your name is frequently being brought up in basic basketball classes."

"Really? I didn't even know I was that famous." Kiyoshi can't help but chuckle at the compliment.

"By the way, can I speak with you in private, Kuro-yan?" Tsuchimikado suddenly requested Kuroko. "There's something that I needed to discuss with you and I can't blurt it out in public yet."

"Well, that's…"

"Excuse me but this is going nowhere…"

The four men suddenly spotted Midorima casually entering the room with an unusual frown in his face although it's very obvious from the get-off that this was aimed to Kuroko, who didn't flinch at the sight of the sour expression. Takao, who was trailing behind the Shutoku ace, was worried at the fact that this could lead into another tense stare down with the former Phantom Sixth Man.

"Oh and what do you mean, green head?" Tsuchimikado challenged the taller man.

"Didn't you realize that you're leading Kuroko into a dangerous path, if it's all true?" Midorima spat back. "After all, he's just a passing specialist and that's why he was our Phantom Sixth Man. Not to mention he had a weak physique, he would be certainly—"

"Woah, woah…" Tsuchimikado mocked Midorima's answer. "It's so boring to hear "Kuro-yan's like this, Kuro-yan's like that" and honestly, it made me reassess whether you really know your so-called Phantom Sixth Man. Dude, if you say things like that, then I can honestly say that you're pretty much out of the loop. Ever since he entered—nope, even before he had joined the Teiko's basketball team, he already had his first taste of the science world. And just last month, he had fought his first battle with the Magic Side. Besides, it sounds awkward for you to suddenly go off ranting for someone whom you claimed you hate."

Gritting his teeth, Midorima knew he was caught there so he decided to change tactics. "Kuroko, you know that Akashi will eventually learn of this. Don't be stupid to hide things from him. If Aomine can't even do something about it, then it's foolish for you to even try, nanodayo."

"Come what may, Midorima-kun." Kuroko dropped the most astonishing reply Midorima never imagined he'll hear from the tealnette. "In the first place, it's my choice if I want to learn knowledge higher than what I learned back in Teiko. We're no longer in Teiko, Midorima-kun, and I suggest that you move on with that."

"Besides, it looks like Kuro-yan is right. You sound not only a lapdog but also a messenger boy." Tsuchimikado crossed his arms and added fire to the argument.

"Tsk." Midorima can't take it any longer and brisk as he is, he quickly turned away and began to walk outside of the room. "Takao, let's go. I don't want any part of their foolish argument."

"Oi! Wait for me!" Takao wailed as he followed his "friend" out of the room.

Once order has been restored, Kagami then spoke up, "Kuroko, Midorima might have been a bastard and a jerk but honestly, I think he's right. This magical world looks dangerous for you, Kuroko. I'd rather have you become ignorant around your world than to be dead when it's too late."

"I would have appreciated your words, Kagami-kun." Kuroko put on a small smile then pouted. "But to say that I remain ignorant…I don't want to be an idiot like you, Kagami-kun. You're a bad influence."

"Hey!"

Before the conversation could further devolve into something as perverted as bunny girls or as boringly serious as basketball, Kanzaki Kaori suddenly barged into the room, clearly exhausted from having to deal with family. While Kamijou wouldn't deny his family to be annoying at, he wouldn't describe them as unbearable. Still, he wasn't too surprised by the saint that needed to get away before her mental stability gets ruined. However, what did confuse him (and Kuroko) was her insistence on him coming along with her to where ever she wanted to get away to.

And having no choice at all, Kamijou let himself be dragged away.

"This day has been abnormally strange and weird." Kagami groaned as he yawned. "It's a good thing that coach excused us for the day and possibly for the next two or three days. Well, we're going to sleep now. I'm tired."

"I'm actually sleepy now as well. Are you joining us right now, Kuroko?" Kiyoshi asked.

"No because I believe Tsuchimikado-kun has something to discuss with me." Kuroko looked at the blonde, who was waiting for him. "I believe it's important."

After the two tall players left the scene, Kuroko sighed as Tsuchimikado signaled him. "Follow me, Kuro-yan."

* * *

"Kisama!"

Some three or four hours ago, Aida Riko was ready to murder someone close to her as she tightly grips onto her phone. She just learned that three of her best players won't be present in the next days of practices due to the emergency event that they claimed their presence were needed—or at least two of them because the redhead one is only a bodyguard to their "weakest" member of the Seirin basketball team.

"Next time I see Kuroko-kun, I'll have to burn his motorcycle once and for all!" She roared as she furiously flipped the table and luckily for Hyuga, he was able to evade when the bottles of energy drinks shattered in the floor while the remaining members of the team can only watch in horror as their coach was shockingly breaking the legs of the table without difficulty. _What did Kuroko do to make our coach this angry?_ Tsuchida shivered as he watches their coach break the legs splinter by splinter.

"Who does Kuroko-kun thinks he is?! Putting this so-called emergency over our practice, the nerve of him to do that is beyond comprehension!" Riko ranted as she breaks off the splinters even more, "Besides that, what is Teppei thinking, supporting Kuroko-kun like that? Why is he even allowing him to go off—"

"Coach, I think this is not the right time to get stressed over that." Hyuga patted her back as he managed to calm down their fiery bench tactician. "Besides, you should be lucky that out all of those Generation of Miracles, Kuroko's the politest." The shooting guard then sighed as he scans the mess that their coach made. "Although I had to admit that since coming back from Academy City, Kuroko's been acting strange. It's like he had a personality change."

"Yeah. Well…it's good that we have seen the glimpse of Kuroko's improved misdirection but…" Izuki added as they all began to clean the mess. "For some reason, I feel like Kuroko has been hiding something to us."

Mitobe looked at him as if wanting the Eagle Eye user to clarify what he meant.

"I meant, we all know he's quiet and reserved but lately, I'm feeling like he's onto something that we don't even know." Izuki began to speak. "And not only that, he's not like the old Kuroko we know. I mean, he's riding a motorcycle, sporting a henna tattoo that makes him look like he came from a gang and he's listening not only to nu metal songs but also to R&B songs that even had sexual themes. Was he even like that before he departed for Academy City?"

"But at the same time, we cannot deny that his training in Academy City had changed Kuroko's style of basketball. He's much stronger in terms of physique and stamina and his already-good reflexes are even sharper right now." Tsuchida gave his two cents. "I mean, he even made a smooth double clutch. Who would have thought that he'll be able to make that kind of shot?"

"Yeah but to think Kuroko will listen to sexual—"

 _Wham!_

"Ouch! Why me?!" Koganei cried in pain as he rubs the spot in his scalp where Riko slapped so hard with her slapping fan.

"You're talking too much!"

"Eh?! But?!"

"You men! Go back to your drills once you're finished cleaning up my mess!"

All the remaining Seirin boys were up in their feet as they all scrambled to clean the mess that their coach made. Afterwards, they all resumed their practice like nothing happened but at the sidelines, Riko can't help but to begin worrying as to the whereabouts of her three players.

 _Kuroko-kun, what have become of you?_

* * *

Tsuchimikado lead Kuroko to a secluded part of the Wadatsumi after than tense conversation with Midorima, who just bluntly voiced his disagreement with Kuroko being involved in something as dark as magic.

The bluenette just kept quiet as the blonde was leading him to the dark but not so dark spot in the back of the hotel as they didn't speak with each other while they were walking. As Kuroko watched the waves from afar splash before currently going to a still, he was wondering whether all of these things were happening in random or they were simply part of his fate. _And is these really the price of my basketball training like what Tsuchimikado-kun claimed?_

"Kuro-yan, let's stop here. No one can hear us."

The blonde stopped at a spot where there is a tree and a wooden bench where they can both seat. But the blonde chose to just stand rather than to sit down as Kuroko let himself take a comfortable position in the bench.

"So what is this thing that you wanted to talk about?" Kuroko didn't want to waste time and decided to ask right away.

"Oh yeah. I just wanted to ask…" Tsuchimikado cleared his throat. "If aside from that asshole in Midorima, does some of your fellow Miracles knows of your involvement in the Magic and Science World?"

"As far as I'm concerned, not one of them knows about it." Kuroko replied truthfully, "I was thinking that Akashi-kun must have an idea but then, he would have called me now if he had a hunch."

"Then it's all settled." The blonde grinned. "By the way, let me just clear some issues with you. First and foremost is your standing in both the Magic and Science affairs."

"What do you mean, Tsuchimikado-kun?"

"Basically, you're with us which meant that normally, you're also a magician. But like Kami-yan, you don't fit with neither faction." Tsuchimikado turned serious. "What's bizarre is that despite not possessing something as potent as Kami-yan's Imagine Breaker, your brain seemed to be cut from the same cloth with the minds of Albert Einstein and Aleister Crowley."

"Alei—what?" Kuroko didn't even know who the last person is.

"Don't worry. You'll meet him someday." Tsuchimikado showed his killer smile. "As I was saying, you're just an ordinary basketball player yet you have shown to have a logic and understanding light years ahead of Kami-yan. So let me get this straight now: both you and Kami-yan are neither magicians nor espers and that's final."

"Not offense but I believed that we have long established that understanding." Kuroko was somehow not understanding what Tsuchimikado is saying.

"I'm just confirming it because when push comes to shove, you don't have to sink deeper especially with how dirty politics is involved." Tsuchimikado was dead-serious at this point. "Kuro-yan, your cute cousin in Shirai Kuroko has been a loyal fan of Misaka Mikoto, the Railgun. Not only that, all four of you had some strong sense of justice. I'm fearing that this could be a catalyst for something not one of you can see coming. That's why it's better if you stay in the middle, assisting Kami-yan when trouble comes. Sometimes, his emotions and desire for justice to everyone tended to override his logic which is why I'm asking you to guide him while at the same time, you're able to protect the identity and status of your cousin. In a way, Shirai is working on the inside while you're functioning from the outside."

Kuroko was silent before replying, "Okay, I understand."

"But this doesn't mean we will deprive you access to the knowledge of our side." The blonde continued. "In fact, you would need it more than Kami-yan, who can simply use his right hand. Rest assured, nothing bad will happen as long as you play by the rules of the dark world…or better yet, you know how to outwit all of them. Looking at you, it does seem that you know how to do it."

Kuroko shrugged, giving two signals of an answer.

"By the way, I've heard that you rode the spaceplane Orion some years ago."

"What? How did you—"

"I'm a spy, Kuro-yan. It's natural that I know things," Tsuchimikado made a chesire smile, "Well, I won't anymore ask you about what happened on that fateful day but just remember the name Shutaura Sequenzia."

"I'm sorry. Who?"

"Ah, that's simply someone who survive along with you and the rest of the guys." The blonde replied. "I've heard rumors that she's now heading a secretive organization called Black Crow Unit which is like a private army, albeit with advanced vehicles."

"Shutaura?" Kuroko knew he haven't heard of that name despite Tsuchimikado's claim that they were both survivors of that "accident." And even if he did hear, it's not like she's someone who he knew personally. "To be honest, I don't know why you're saying these things to me."

"That's a bit rough, Kuro-yan." The blonde chuckled. "Like I said, treat it as a way of giving back to Academy City."

"Okay."

Then there was a pause as Tsuchimikado looked like he'll think his next words while Kuroko looked a bit exhausted from just grasping the real meaning in Tsuchimikado's words.

"One more thing." The guy with the shades finally spoke. "Is it true that Midorima collects lucky items?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Ah, nothing. At least, not yet."

Kuroko raised his eyebrows at the blonde's strange reply. _It's all too cryptic._

"But to be honest, I'm actually glad that I learned a lot of things." The tealnette replied as he brought out a basketball in his duffel bag. "At first, I only thought of basketball my whole life but when I got to meet you all, it looks like the urge inside me to learn something beyond my limits fired up."

"Meh. Everyone gets to have that, nya." The blonde replied.

Suddenly, they heard what looked like a pair of manly screams coming from the hot springs.

Before the two can react, Tsuchimikado suddenly saw his favorite tormented toy in Kamijou and his father suddenly running as if they are being chased by a pack of rabid dogs. Kuroko actually found it amusing as the two of them watch the father and son duo run with all their lives until they stop in a spot at the forested area not far from where the pair of blue and yellow are standing.

"Looks like Kami-yan did something that pissed of Nee-chin." Tsuchimikado chuckled.

"Probably."

"Well, Kuro-yan. Kami-yan needs you at this hour." Tsuchimikado put his hands in his pockets. "I suggest that you catch up to him there because who knows, he might be close to getting paranoid with all the girls he's catching in his net."

Quietly agreeing to Tsuchimikado's suggestion, Kuroko immediately set foot to try and discuss whatever need to be talked about with the spiky haired boy. As he closes the gap between him and the two males, Kuroko quickly saw that Touya had detached himself from his own son and went on his own way after having a one-on-one talk with his mini-me. The tealnette didn't know what they talked about but judging from what Kamijou was looking from afar, the passing specialist thought it must be something.

"Kamijou-kun…"

"Kyaah! Where did you come from?!" Kamijou almost shrieked in an unmanly voice. "Your presence still kills me even if you have a different face right now."

"I'm sorry about that. By the way, what are you looking in that direction?" Kuroko noticed that his friend is kneeling behind a bush. He decided to copy Kamijou's actions and knelt beside him. As soon as he raised his eyes up, he was a bit surprised as to who the person that Kamijou is watching for a while.

It was Misha Kreutzev.

"For a while, I had the impression that she had an intense personality." Kuroko whispered. "But judging from what I'm seeing, she seemed to be lonely, being stuck up in that clearing all alone."

"So what do you want to happen?" Kamijou asked his friend's opinion.

"It's up to you, Kamijou-kun. But if we go talk to her, then we might be able to get a grasp of what is truly happening."

Not seeing else he could do and that he can't simply brush off Kuroko's suggestion, Kamijou decided to go along with the half-baked plan of his father, who told him to go and talk to Misha. Besides, the latter did look troubled as Kuroko claimed so there was no harm in talking to her to get things settled.

Slowly but surely, the two boys approached the Russian magician.

"What are you up to?" Kamijou asked curiously.

Misha barely gave Kamijou a glance before returning her attention to the moon as she didn't detect Kuroko's presence immediately despite his supposed red hair. e

"We can stay with you if you're homesick. We were on our way back i, but I'm not Russian or anything," Kamijou punned before quickly berating himself for just how terrible it sounds.

 _That actually sounds worse than Izuki-senpai's jokes._ Kuroko mentally facepalmed.

Desperately hoping that Misha didn't actually her his bad joke, Kamijou then decided to try out a new tactic as he then brought out a candy from his pocket.

"Want one?" He offered politely and immediately, Misha turned to face him. She hesitated when she first saw the candy from Kamijou's right hand but little by little, her fidgety hands carefully pried the candy away from his right hand and began to unwrap it like a toddler.

"Misha-san, did you find anything about Angel Fall?" Kuroko immediately asked. If Misha was stunned at his sudden appearance, she didn't show it although she slightly recoiled before continuing to eat the candy. And as she ate the candy in a cute way, she shook her head in response to the passing specialists' question.

"Well…to be honest, I haven't gotten a solid grasp on your magical world." Kuroko sighed, knowing that this would be a hard case to solve in a single day for an amateur like him. "And Kamijou-kun doesn't have an idea either but whoever did this, do you have any hunch as to why a spell like Angel Fall was activated?"

"Hypothesis no. 1 – To acquire the vast amount of power an angel possesses? Or to become part of the angel class?" She then looks at the wrapper of her candy before continuing. "Angel Fall is incomplete?"

"Hah? Really?" Kamijou was surprised by the answer given to the two of them.

"The power of an angel is strong enough to obliterate the Vatican." The Annihilatus agent explained. "If Angel Fall were completed, a calamity as great as those found in the first chapter of Genesis and the Epic of Gilgamesh would take place."

Kuroko blinked as he heard two familiar ancient scripts. _That bad?_

"We must identify the spell caster before that and prevent the completion of the spell." Misha completed.

"Of course. That's why we're all here." Kuroko nodded.

Some minutes later, Kuroko and Kamijou were walking back to the Wadatsumi to finally get some sleep. Unfortunately for the spiky haired boy, their supposedly peaceful return to the inn was met by some kind of strange noise coming from the upper side of the inn.

"Kamijou-kun, isn't that sound coming from the room of your parents?" Kuroko asked as he blinked at the strange and _raunchy_ moans.

"Yo-You're right, Kuroko. That seemed to come from my parents' room." Kamijou somehow felt his hairs standing up as he didn't like the sound at all.

Seconds later, his instinct proved to be right.

" _My, my Touya-san!_ _Hold on! What are you getting all energetic about, Touya-san?_ "

" _Seeing Touma's face brought back a lot of memories, you see and I thought he'd like a younger brother or sister._ "

" _My, my, is that so._ "

With that, the lights suddenly turned off.

"Kamijou-kun, this isn't good." Was the only thing Kuroko can manage to say.

"Yes, this is bad! Real bad!" Kamijou screamed as he ran. "Sorry, Misha. Before the world's crisis, I have to take care of another personal one right now!"

The Seirin ace can only watch as the spiky haired boy ran ahead to enter and try to stop his parents from doing the act, especially since that they have swapped bodies.

Kuroko sighed as he then went inside the building and soon into their room where he saw Kagami and Kiyoshi sleeping heavily. After ten minutes, Kuroko himself is already sleeping but not before saying a few prayers to Buddha and the local Japanese deities.

"I just hope that we can solve this as fast as we can."

* * *

The next morning, Kuroko woke up to the sound of Kamijou's parents running out of the room. _His mother seemed to be in panic_. Yawning as he slowly walked out of the room, Kuroko wnet outside of the room and immediately, the image of Kamijou Shiina and his own best friend walking out of the door, not even caring about Index, who was violently crushed by the sudden opening of the door.

"What the hell is happening?" Kagami, who also just woke up, drawled as he was dragging his feet. His black sleeveless shirt and red jogging pants gave him quite a scary figure.

Behind the power forward is also Kiyoshi, who seemed to be lively.

"It's so noisy. What is happening?" The center asked.

Once in the lobby of the hotel, Shiina explained to the rest of the Kamijou clan (and to the basketball players present) that she had forgotten to lock the front door to their new house before they left and go back to take care of it. Such a trip would take most of the day but the family matriarch didn't mind. Upon hearing this, Misha surprisingly offered along with her to keep her company. Shiina, of course, gladly accepted their offer, wishing to learn more about her son's strange friend.

"Well…that was quick." Takao commented as he had a ball in his hands, indicating that they plan to play in the nearby court that they found in the beach.

"As shown. By the way, I needed to talk to Akashi this afternoon. I have to report this to him." Midorima made it louder so as to make it audible to Kuroko, who pretended to not have heard about it. He had other things to worry about but there was one thing that is bugging him.

 _If what Tsuchimikado-kun and Kanzaki-san told us before was true, then the spell should have been a totally unknown and unique phenomenon, the first of its kind. How was Misha-san supposed to know that it can lead to a catastrophe as wide as the Great Flood?_

Kuroko realized that something isn't adding up. _So does that mean that one of them isn't telling the truth?_

"Kamijou-kun? Do you have something in mind?" Kuroko turned sharply towards the Imagine Breaker wielder, who only snorted.

"Kuroko, at the very least, you should have told me a while back that you know something since something isn't sitting right with me on that Misha lady."

* * *

"Misha said that?"

Kanzaki asked skeptically to which Kuroko nodded.

Currently, the two boys were with Kanzaki and Tsuchimikado in a forest clearing to have an impromptu meeting although this should have been earlier if not for Kagami, who tried to butt in on their mission as he claimed he was only watching Kuroko's welfare. Kanzaki's blunt comment about the redhead being an imbecile and a clueless fool nearly provoked the Seirin ace into fighting the Saint of the East if it wasn't for Kiyoshi, who managed to lock him in his hips before he can do something violent.

 _Well, considering it's Nee-chin we're talking about, Kagami should be glad that the Iron Heart stopped him seconds before he can get slaughtered._ Tsuchimikado heaved a sigh.

"Hey, so we don't really know the formation of Angel Fall, right?" Kamijou inquired to which Kanzaki replied positively.

"There isn't a record in the British Library. So it's a very new phenomenon." Tsuchimikado confirmed.

"So how does Misha-san knows if that thing is complete or not? It's not logical at all." Kuroko spoke up.

This question caused the two Necessarius magicians to do a double take after hearing the tealnette-turned-redhead's question.

"She also said that a calamity would occur if it were completed." Kuroko wanted answers on his own. "How was she able to say that calmly?"

As if on cue, the wind got colder and stronger in a chilling way as it breezed past the four individuals.

"Not only that, Misha didn't touch my right hand. It cannot be because she was shy…" Kamijou started it.

"…It's also because she casted the spell herself…" Tsuchimikado continued it in a grim voice.

"…and didn't want the in-progress of Angel Fall to be erased." Kanzaki finished the blow.

The wind steadily grew even stronger.

"Kami-yan! Kuro-yan! You two go with me!" Tsuchimikado immediately ordered the two. "Kami-yan, take us to your home."

In just thirty minutes, the three boys were on their way to the Kamijou residence. It was just a bit of a hassle because not only did Touya teased Touma about following Misha when in fact, they needed the map of the new home of the Kamijous. Then came Kiyoshi, who was just about to go outside and play with Kagami, Midorima, and Takao. He initially offered to go with Kuroko but the latter refused, telling him that they'll be back sooner in the afternoon. The Iron Heart knew it must be something dangerous but he decided to play along with it as he trusted the instincts of their Phantom Sixth Man.

As the taxi and Kuroko's motorcycle was threading smoothly in the road, Tsuchimikado and Kamijou were having a conversation of some sorts.

"Assuming Misha casted Angel Fall, why is she after Index—I mean mom?" Kamijou asked.

"Beats me." Tsuchimikado gave a tired reply. "We'll just have to ask Misha to find out."

After almost an hour, three boys found themselves in front of the new Kamijou residence.

Just as his mother had mentioned, the front door to the house was unlocked so getting into the house was easy. Thankfully, they arrived before Mishanand Shiina did—or at least, that's what they thought so they had the chance confront her before anything gets dirty. In the meantime, the three boys decided to take the time to explore the house itself.

Kuroko found the whole situation to be rather surreal as they were breaking inand entering into his friend's own family house. The house itself was rather generic, but if there is anything interesting, it was the numerous artifacts and souvenirs that Touya seemed to have collected over the years. There wasn't a single square meter of the house that didn't have a small statue or a lucky item in it.

 _Gives me Midorima-kun vibes._ Kuroko shuddered as he looked every nook and cranny into the house.

"Nothing is here." Kamijou sighed as he opened a random room but as he walked on, he noticed what looked like a hand-drawn painting on the wall. "It's…my name…I don't remember anything at all…"

He then entered the dining room and kitchen where he spotted Tsuchimikado and Kuroko observing something near the microwave. "What's the matter, Tsuchimikado, Kuroko?"

"I see…so that's how it is." The blonde put his chin in his right hand as he and Kuroko were looking at a set of white tiger figurines.

"What's wrong with this?" Kamijou tried to touch the figurines but Kuroko prevented him from doing so.

"Tsuchimikado-kun said we shouldn't touch these small statues carelessly." Kuroko sighed as Tsuchimikado then walked and scanned the place meticulously. Kamijou and the supposed bluenette then followed the blonde but then, the former got stopped when he noticed three picture frames staring back at him. He then picked it up.

"This is my mother…" The boy whispered, as if wanting to cry but when he turned to his father, he almost dropped the picture. "Huh? Dad?"

The appearance of his father was no different from the portrait in this one.

"This one too." Kamijou picked up another picture frame. "And this one…dad's appearance didn't change?! Tsuchimikado…Kuroko…this is…"

"The only person that isn't affected by Angel Fall besides exceptions like you Kami-yan is the spell caster himself."

Tsuchimikado had dropped the bombshell himself as the two other boys didn't know how to react with the new development.

" _Ara, ara._ "

" _Oh my._ "

Before the three boys can react, the door suddenly opened wide and it fully revealed Shiina and Misha. The moment the Russian Anihilatus agent spotted Tsuchimikado, she gritted her teeth and immediately left the area. Tsuchimikado tried to gave chase but as he already made the motion, he was suddenly tackled by Shiina, who hugged him because she instead saw Hajime the idol instead.

"Kami-yan, go after her! Have you forgotten what Misha tried to do to you when she thought you're the spell caster?!"

Kamijou then went after the magician. Kuroko was about to follow but suddenly he was stopped by the blonde.

"Kuro-yan, stay here! I have something else for you to do!" He ordered the confused Kuroko, who nevertheless stood still. After somewhat managing to get off Shiina from him, Tsuchimikado then sent her on his way and as soon as the mother had left, he then faced Kuroko. "Kuro-yan, when you come back to the Wadatsumi, go to the rear portion of the inn and there, you will find a large duffel bag and a wooden box. Actually, I already figured out that you would bring some of your Seirin teammates so I have decided this one. The bag contained two M4 carbines and the wooden box contained ammunition for those two."

"Tsichimikado-kun, I don't like what you're planning…" Kuroko knew that violence isn't on the vocabulary of Kiyoshi and he also knew that Kagami isn't that much of a rough teenager. "Besides, what good will—"

"Kuro-yan, unlike you, Kiyoshi-san and Kagami aren't well-versed with the magic world." Tsuchimikado argued. "I have a feeling that the one Kami-yan is chasing right now isn't the real Misha Kreutzev but is someone else. If ever that's the case, it means that entity is a powerful being and what the hell the Iron Heart and that jumping-jack of a fool in Kagami can even do with their bare hands? At least, when Nee-chin holds down that entity, those two can help clobber the supernatural being even by just a fraction."

Kuroo gritted his teeth. He wasn't still convinced.

"Kuro-yan, remembers this. In our world, it's either you kill or you get killed." The blonde pressed on. "You don't want your Seirin teammates to get in danger, right?"

The tealnette bit his lip as he sensed that somehow, Tsuchimikado had a point. "Fine but after that, we'll gave to throw those guns in the sea. I don't want ourselves to get jailed for illegal possession of firearms, Tsuchimikado-kun."

"Don't worry. I got your backs on this one. Besides, operating an AK is easy enough that those two can figure it out." Tsuchimikado then changed the tune of their topic. "You can leave those two to Nee-chin's care as you had another mission to fulfill. Kuro-yan, burn down Midorima's house."

The last order was something that Kuroko had to processed longer in his brain. "What?"

"You said that Midorima collects lucky items for good luck, Think about it. Kuro-yan's father did the same thing and look at what happened." Tsuchimikado explained. "It's for assurance. Even we somehow managed to destroy the ritual site here, another might sprout thanks to that green-haired idiot's obsessiveness with Oha-Asa. Think about it: would you rather let Midorima die or would you destroy his house to save him and his family? By the way, don't let the two fo them know about this."

Kuroko blinked as he then thought about it quickly. Then his verdict came.

"As much as I hate to do it, I'll have to agree with it for the sake of those involved. Tsuchimikado-kun, tell me how an AK works?"

After a few minutes, Kuroko then rode away to catch up with Kamijou. As he watched the Kawasaki motorcycle blitzed in the road, Tsuchimikado can only shake his head with a smirk.

"I'm sorry, Midorima and Takao, but I'll have to get rid of you two before someone else learns of this."

* * *

Upon arriving back to the Wadatsumi, Kuroko and Kamijou, who both reached the place at the same time despite the latter's early head-start, ran up to the front door and there, they both saw the three K's and I's in Kanzaki, Kiyoshi, and Kagami, who were all anxiously waiting for the two of them. Midorima and Takao seemed to be out of sight but that only made the tealnette more relieved.

Kuroko was also carrying the large duffel bag and the wooden box that Tsuchimikado told about.

"Kagami-kun, where is Misha-san and Kamijou-san?" Kuroko yelled as soon as they both reached the three.

"That crazy Russian lady in that weird outfit? Dunno and don't care." Kagami shrugged. "As to that Kamijou daddy, I saw him walking along the shore. Midorima and Takao went back to the Wadatsumi to have some breather, as they claimed."

"By the way, did something happened?" Kiyoshi asked. Instead of replying, Kuroko put down the duffel bag and as soon as he opened it, it revealed the distinctive wooden handguard and the curved magazine of the Kalashnikov.

"Oi! Kuroko, where the hell did you get those rifles?" Kagami shouted in horror and surprise as Kamijou, Kiyoshi and Kanzaki were also surprised at the guns that the tealnette brought.

"Actually, you two are needing this." Kuroko replied as he pushed the two assault rifles into Kagami's and Kiyoshi's hands. "It's from Tsuchimikado-kun. He said something bad would happen. I have to accomplish another mission related to this one so stay here."

But the moment Kuroko mentioned the blonde as being the culprit behind those two AK-47 rifles, Kanzaki gritted her teeth as she seemed that something big is about to happen. After Kamijou filled her with the necessary information needed, Kanzaki then decided. "You three must wait here. This is my job now. I'll secure Mr. Touya's—"

"I don't think so!" Kamijou retorted. "I'll take matters into my own hands."

"But…"

"No buts! Kamijou Touya is my father! My one and only father!"

"I see." Kanzaki nodded as he turned to Kagami and Kiyoshi, who received the basic instructions on how to fire the two rifles from Kuroko, who in turn, left to fulfill his ultimate mission. "You want to accompany to help us in this mission to you have simply chickened out?"

"The hell! Shut up!" Kagami gritted as he slung the AK into his shoulder. "If Kuroko says so, then we have no choice. We'll simply fight together. We all want to finish this madness."

"We're doing this for Kuroko's sake and gratitude to Kamijou for saving Kuroko's life back there in Academy City." Kiyoshi cocked his gun.

"I see…" Kanzaki actually had a small smile as she saw that despite being new to the magical world, the three Seirin boys didn't back down from the odds that is surrounding them. "Then I'll cover for you if something happens. Kamijou would first take care of his father."

In a few minutes, Kamijou was seen running towards the shore. Immediately he saw his dad walking peacefully in the beach. He then called out.

"Dad!"

* * *

"This had gone horribly bad!"

Kuroko muttered as he steps in the gas to increase the speed of his motorcycle. But before he actually went back to Tokyo to fulfill his mission, he stopped by a store to buy three things he'll most likely need: a torch, a match, and a bottle of gasoline.

But as a traffic somewhat slows him down as he was nearing the boundary between Kanagawa and Tokyo, he then heard a familiar voice that almost made him jump out of his seat.

"Eh? Akashicchi?! What are you doing here in Kanagawa? And with a motorcycle?"

 _Oh no._ Was the only thing Kuroko thought as he cannot be wrong that he just bumped into Kise Ryouta, who could prove to be a hurdle in his mission.

 _This isn't going to be easy at all._

* * *

 _ **Sneak Peak for the next chapter!**_

 **Kanzaki bravely faces off against Archangel Gabriel, who took the form of Sasha Kreutzev to go as Misha. With her (which she was forced to go with it) was Kagami and Kiyoshi, who were horrified at the fact that they were actually up against an archangel—one of the most powerful beings in the divine system. Nevertheless, the two Seirin players managed to avoid death as they helped Kanzaki clobber the archangel skillfully by using their basketball reflexes. Kamijou Touma and Touya, meanwhile, were trying to stop Angel Fall while Kuroko was on his way to destroy the ritual site—and with Kise Ryouta of all people. The blonde small forward of Kaijo kept asking as to what is going on, only to be met with a blunt reply from Kuroko, who was hell-bent to finish his mission despite having a heavy heart of knowing he'll have to burn the house of one of his former Teiko teammates.**

 **Elsewhere, Tsuchimikado begins his own mission by facing off against Midorima, who was about to call Akashi. The former warned the latter that he won't even remember what happened as they engage in a swift but brutal combat. As Takao watched the entire thing happen, he wondered as to what the hell was happening.**


	13. Archangel (The Power of God)

When Kamijou Touma found his father safely walking along the shore, he heaved a sigh as he was relieved to see that his old man was still safe. Still, he couldn't let his guard down just yet. Misha Kreutzev was bound to be after his father and if he didn't move now, there was no telling when or where she might rear her hooded head. At the very least, when he is able to drag his father back to safety, they might be able to stage some kind of defensive position in the hotel until they could get Misha calm down and listen to reason while Kuroko handle the rest of the other ritual sites that could pop out of nowhere. Even if all the evidence seemed to point towards Kamijou Touya being responsible for Angel Fall, he wasn't about to let some sorceress simply murder his own father.

"Dad." Touma called out as he ran towards his father. Behind him are Kiyoshi and Kagami, both armed with the AK-47s that were given to them. Although they had no intention to fire first, they had their fingers in the triggers just in case they would be forced to fight.

"You're back," Touya greeted, "Did mom came back with you? What did you think of the new house?"

The boy didn't reply immediately and fortunately, Touya didn't quickly saw the firearms being held by the two Seirin bigs.

"What's wrong? Why so serious? Had a fight with mom, I see…"

"Why?" Touma then spoke with a deep volume that it caught the attention of his father, "Why did you lay your hands on the occult?"

"Hey, hey, what are you—"

"Quit pretending like you don't know!" Touma yelled in exasperation, "I'm asking you why you're mimicking what magicians are doing!"

There was a silence as Touya was a bit stunned to see his son acting like this. And then again, with what's happening around them, it would be more surprising if his son remains calm and serene.

"Geez, just answer your son's question, Kamijou-san…" Kagami muttered in his lack of patience, "He's not the only one who wanted answers."

"I see…now, let's see where I should begin…" Touya bowed his head a little and then he swiveled his head towards the sea, "Touma, do you remember what people called you when you were a kid? The Plague."

"The Plague?" Kiyoshi muttered in surprise.

"For whatever reason, misfortune kept happening around you. Eventually, not only your friends but even adults began to distance themselves from you," Touya recounted in a grim tone, "I placed you in Academy City for that reason. I was scared. Scared of the hearts of the people shaken by myth and superstition. That is why I sent you to a world where superstition doesn't exist."

"Well, that's only half the answer…" Kiyoshi muttered, already aware that what Touya expected from Academy City is wrong.

"But…even in that city of science, you were treated as a misfortune-attracting person. How can your misfortune, which even science cannot erase, be dispelled?" Touya them smiled, "That's why I turned to the occult. Funny, isn't it? To be using superstition in order to remove superstition."

"Dumbass…" Touma muttered, "Yes, I was misfortunate. But did I ever say I regretted it?! That's garbage! No matter what misfortune awaits me, my road if for me to walk! And don't say everyone treated me that way! Look at Kuroko! Look at Kiyoshi-senpai! Look at the red-haired guy whom I just met yesterday! Did any one of them treat me like some garbage?! No! And for that, I was happy!"

His words had touched the hearts of Kiyoshi. _Kamijou…_

"You were happy?" The elder Kamijou looked at him with shock before he then bowed his head and smiled, "I was a fool, then. I was going to take your happiness away from you. But then, I knew that by just collecting all those souvenirs, nothing would actually change."

"What the hell?!" Kagami can't believe what he heard, "Then that meant you were just literally fooling yourself and him all these times!"

However, something about what Touya said had stirred something. _Souvenirs? Although Kagami was also right, something didn't add up. Did we miss something?_

"Souvenirs, you say, Kamijou-san?" Kiyoshi asked in curiosity.

"Yeah, big boy. I'm going to give on souvenirs…"

"Wait a sec!" Touma began to somewhat panic, "You're not the one who cast Angel Fall, dad?!"

"Angel Fall? I haven't heard of that term." Touya said in a dumbfounded way.

"Then I'll ask you a question. Where did mom go?" Touma asked.

"I don't know. Shouldn't you or that Kuroko boy that you befriended have an idea? By the way, where is he?"

 _He can't tell the switch in appearance?! Then the effects of Angel Fall do work on him…_

"Hey, Misha-chan!"

To Touma's horror, Misha had found them. His only chance to save his father now was for him to convince the Russian sorcerer that Touya was innocent, here and now. Acting quickly, Touma stepped between his father and the sorceress, having no intention of letting her near her target. However, he also had no intention of starting a physical fight as he smacked down the AK-47 that Kagami was about to brandish in slight reflex.

"Wait, Misha!" Touma came in to confront Misha, "It's true that dad's appearance didn't get switched. But he doesn't realize that the looks of everyone else had also switched. This means—"

"Answer 01—" To the horror of everyone present, Misha's eyes turned red, "This is the answer. Target had been determined."

"Bastard!" Kagami, letting his reflexes take over again, cocked his gun and tried brandish it again, only for Kiyoshi to hold him back, "Not now! We're not here to start the first shot!" The Seirin center had to grip the hips of the power forward. _Besides, out of the three of us, you had the least experience of these things! Kuroko knows better than the two of us!_

"Opinion 01 – It was a rather dull explanation," Misha then took out what looked like an iron rod and brandished it, seemingly preparing to execute the elder Kamijou.

"You should not be allowed to kill humans without God's will," a familiar voice said from behind the men, "Have you forgotten that as well?"

The imposing figure of Kanzaki Kaori appeared as she calmly walked nearer to the men, "Me and the two boys in Kiyoshi and Kagami will handle this. You must take Mr. Touya with you and vacate this area immediately."

Kagami grinned as he cocks his AK-47 and Kiyoshi followed suit.

"Wait! Misha is misunderstanding this! She—"

"Her name is not Misha."

"What?" Kiyoshi was surprised.

"I submitted an inquiry to the Russian Orthodox Church," Kanzaki calmly explained, "Only a 'Sasha Kreutzev' has been confirmed. That appearance must be borrowed from her."

"The hell is that? So if that wasn't the crazy Russian girl as we thought then—" Kagami trailed off.

"In this world, there is an entity belonging to neither gender that is depicted as both male and female in myth," Kanzaki began to clarify, "For them, their name denotes the purpose God created them for. It isn't something they would switch with other people easily."

"Wait a minute. What exactly—"

"Have you forgotten? The name of this grand spell? Even Kuroko would be able to remember it," Kanzaki reminded him, "After all, he figured it out first and he's now on his way towards one of the ritual sites."

At hearing this, Kamijou began to curse himself mentally as everything became clear to him. _Her hesitation to touch my right hand. The fact that she knows everything is already suspicious and even I didn't bother to bring it up!_

As all of these facts came to light, Misha seemed to have heard it as she narrowed her red eyes and in an instant, the sky became dark all of the sudden. The full moon shone brightly as the figure in front of the group faced them, as if ready to give them hell.

"O-Oi! Why did it suddenly became night?" Kagami shouted in confusion as he points the Kalashnikov in his hands upwards, "It's still late in the afternoon!"

"I see," Kanzaki's voice was laden with venom as she prepared to take out her katana, "You bring out the night, which powers your attributes, eh?" As she spoke with fury, a pair of white and glowing wings appeared behind the monster before them, causing Kagami to flinch back in shock and _fear_.

"Is this what Kuroko had to deal with?" Kiyoshi spoke, more to himself.

"The symbol of water and the governor of blue, the guardian of the moon and the protector of the rear side. The one they call…the Power of God or in layman's term, an archangel…" Kanzaki continued explaining to the new comers of the magic world. As she spoke, black wings made of glass shards suddenly appeared behind "Misha's" back and as she was elevated into the air, she lifts up her staff and in doing so, a giant circle centering on the moon suddenly appeared from the sky and soon, it further expanded into several circles and lines.

"Wh-What the hell is that?!" Kiyoshi can't help but ask in both awe and fright at the exposition of the power of the magical world.

"The sweep?" It seemed that the Saint had recognized the power, "The fire and brimstone rain that once destroyed an entire civilization for its wickedness?"

"That sounds a bit like Sodom and Gomorrah that I heard from Christian classes in America," Kagami remembered a story told by their pastor back in his younger years at Los Angeles.

"To some degree, you are right, Kagami Taiga," Kanzaki nodded, looking a bit relieved that Kuroko's friends doesn't seem as stupid as she once perceived before she faced the magician in front of her, "Are you doing this just so you can fulfill your one order to return back to Heaven? At the expense of destroying the world?!"

"Screw you," Kamijou suddenly muttered as he bravely faced the creature in front of them.

"What are you trying to do?" Kanzaki demanded.

"That bastard didn't touched my right hand," Kamijou explained, "It must mean that Imagine Breaker is effective against angels as well…"

"No. From this point on, it is not a battle of humans though…" She sighed, looking at the two basketball players, "Those two are an exemption and they can be helpful in my battle here. There are other things you need to do in order for Kuroko to successfully complete his mission as well."

"Eh? What did Kuroko do, by the way?"

"He went on to stop one aspect of Angel Fall but he alone cannot do it," Kanzaki explained as she took out her katana, "You and Touya-san should help stop Angel Fall or else, the Power of God will continue to hunt not only Touya-san but also Kuroko and Midorima Shintaro…"

"What?! What did Midorima do this time?" Kagami demanded.

"As you can see, his hobby for collecting lucky items had caused a massive disruption in the mana of this world and it only worsened with what happened with Touya-san," Kanzaki explained, causing the redheaded power forward to grimace as he curses out a certain greenheaded shooting guard. _Damn you, Midorima! You made things much more complicated!_

"Hurry before the spell completes!" Kanzaki ordered the Kamijou brood.

"Kanzaki…"

Kanzaki suddenly smiled a bit before she replied, "I don't plan to die here and neither these two tall brutes. Like how you and Kuroko saved _her_ life twice, I would be grateful if you could save mine this time."

Seeing the determination set in the Saint's mind, Kamijou then grabbed his father's hands and led him away from the beach as Kiyoshi and Kagami were prepared for combat as they hid themselves behind a large boulder.

"Salvare000!" Kanzaki invoked her magic number as she began to slash the shards of glass in front of her, "I'm no ordinary magician! My magic is of the Amakusa-shiki Christian Church's, a unique, Japanese form of Christianity derived by the persecuted Japanese Christians during the Edo Era." She narrated as Kagami and Kiyoshi began to fire shots at Misha, who wasn't affected directly but was distracted by a second that it actually made the job of slashing and cutting easier for the slim-built saint.

"Its essence is…multiple religious fusions style," Kanzaki began to narrate again to the two Seirin members, "To escape oppression, it fused with Shinto and Buddhism, an original form. In polytheism like Shinto, anti-deity magic exists, as well. "

"In other words, an angel can be beaten by other forms of magic…" Kiyoshi gasped as the two of them ran to another location to fire from a different angle.

"In its warnings, it does inform us not to harm the gods but then, why was there such a warning to begin with…" She stopped as she felt the shards push too much and she gasped in shock as she fell on the sand, "There's no way I'd go unharmed trading shots against the Power of God. I have Kiyoshi and Kagami to make things easier for me but until when could we last?" She was lucky that Kiyoshi had hit another part of Misha to divert the glass shards to give her time to launch another attack again.

"At this rate, it would be a slugging match with that damned archangel…" Kagami can't believe he's up against a mythological figure as he fired his Kalashnikov in the air.

 _I beg you, Kamijou Touma!_ Kanzaki prayed as she faces off against the archangel. _You must stop Angel Fall as soon as you can._

Unknown to anyone at the beach, a certain blonde backstabber was watching the whole ordeal transpire before the start of the battle from a hill further inland. Looking up at the magic circle forming in the sky, the double agent couldn't help but smirk out how out of control everything had gotten. "Well, this doesn't look too good?" Tsuchimikado Motoharu mused, "Sorry about this Kami-yan and Kuro-yan. It's a tough decision to make, but it looks like if I needed to sort this out, we're going to have to offer someone as a sacrifice to get this under control."

He pushes up his dark shades before he began his move.

* * *

"Neh, Shin-chan, what the hell is happening?! What are those circles?!"

Starring out of the Wadatsumi room window, Takao Kazunari could only gawk at how out of control everything had gotten. After positioning himself somewhere where he could use his Hawk Eyes to spot any potential intruders, he had her suspicions when the man named Kanzaki got off the phone and told him he was heading to the beach to find a certain spiky haired boy and his father. Takao said he would come along, but the man insisted that he stay put and hold down the fort, so to speak. A few minutes later, and the sky had suddenly turned to night and had a giant, luminescent pattern printed on it.

"What the hell is going on?" Modorima, who was prepared to report to Akashi about Kuroko's strange activities, whispered to himself as they started running to make their way to the hotel lobby to immediately call on the Rakuzan captain.

Walking through the halls, the Shutoku shooter couldn't help but notice how empty the hotel was. Now that he really thought about it as the only people who seemed to be there at all are the two employees and the family of the spiky haired boy. Sure, it was a small hotel at a small beach resort, but one would have expected there to be a bit more business. Really, the only other guests to have shown up were Kuroko and his two Seirin teammates. At the moment, even the Seirin cagers are now missing.

When they finally got to the lobby, Takao and Midorima were quite shocked by the sight they were greeted with. For some reason, Hitotsui Hajime, the same idol that, for some reason, was with the spiky haired boy and Kuroko earlier in the day, was in the hotel lobby, putting down Otohime down on a couch, alongside that Index girl that Kuroko's friend brought with them.

Of course, Midorima Shintaro was no idiot. He was the ace of Shutoku, dammit. Even if it was dark out now, that was not because it had become late enough for the sun to have gone down and signal it was time for the two young girls to go to sleep. Look at the idol's back pocket, he saw a slightly soaked cloth hanging out of it. Something about it made the lefty shooter go on heightened alert.

Midorima may have only met the other guests the other day and he barely interacted with all of his former Teiko teammates' new friends but even he couldn't stand this. He revealed himself from the darkness to try and protect them while, at the same time, try to get some answers.

"I suggest you step away from the girls…" Midorima made his presence felt as he made the warning clear, "If you continue to do so, I have no choice but to continue to call Akashi and the authorities. If you don't want to see how Akashi can be brutal, then I suggest do what I say and leave…"

"What? You're here Midorima, huh?" the man mused, stepping away from the passed-out girls, "Who would have thought such an ordinary guy like Kuroko would have such extraordinary former teammates from Teiko? I must say, it's kind of ironic how you have that face considering your relationship to Kuro-yan since you all separated entering high school."

"What's that supposed to mean? And how would an idol like you know a former teammate of mine, much less what happened in our past?" Midorima demanded, quickly stepping close to make his point as Takao can only freeze in his spot at the verbal spat happening between the two of them.

"Nothing you need to worry about," the supposed idol replied, waving off the issue, "Truth is, I'm not really an idol. Heck, I'm not even Hitotsui Hajime. This is just a disguise I'm using for a job. I just happen to be good friends with your former teammate, having worked with him one a few jobs concerning the battle between science and magic at Academy City."

"If that's the case, why did you knock them out? A decent man would have no idea on doing that," Midorima gritted, not buying what the man was selling.

"I just needed to get them out of the way for the next part of the job that me and Kuro-yan is working on. It's already unfortunate that the members of the Seirin basketball club are already getting roped into our world but who knows? They could actually be pretty useful to us. To think Kuroko Tetsuya, the Phantom Sixth Man, Kagami Taiga, the rising Miracle, and Kiyoshi Teppei, the Iron Heart of the overshadowed Uncrowned Kings, would be fighting side-by-side with Kanzaki Kaori, one of the few Saints of this world and the priestess of the Amakusa Church is a bit amusing to see. But we can't have any more outsiders getting involved," the man replied, "Unfortunately, outsiders includes you and Takao!"

Out of nowhere, the strange man charged at Midorima at a breakneck pace. Before Takao can react, the strange man had already socked him in the jaw, causing the point guard to fall into his knees, unconscious. With the distance cleared, the man then charged at Midorima, who tried to fight back but he was stunningly overwhelmed by the smaller man. The man who looked like Hitotsui Hajime delivered several quick jabs to his gut and face before throwing him across the room.

After he landed, Midorima tried to get back to his feet, only to find himself held against a wall with a soaked cloth being pressed over his mouth and nose. In the time it took for him to get up, the megane had been pinned by the fake idol, faced with the same drug that had been used on the two young women.

"You basketball prodigies are all the same. You're so reliant and proud on your abilities that the minute your only skill got shut down, you're helpless," the man mused, "Not only that, the stronger the prodigy, the worse the case. This is a special incapacitating agent with the added bonus that is especially reserved for the two of you. You won't remember anything from the 48 hours that you were here. It's amazing that you can get that from the Academy City Underworld. Of course, you wouldn't know that, Shutoku ace and neither will Akashi Seijuro know. Just rest easy for now. This will all be over soon once me and Kuro-yan had finished our jobs."

Unable to put up any more of a fight, Midorima let himself fall into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Kise-kun, make it quick…"

"Kurokocchi! I can't believe we're doing this! Are we really burning down Midorimacchi's house?!"

Honestly, Kuroko Tetsuya really wanted to just use his motorcycle to trample and flatten Kise Ryouta, who is now beginning to annoy the shit out of him once the bluenette (who is still sporting the red hair due to Angel Fall) told him of the strange circumstances they were in. Not surprisingly, the blonde, who is sporting a silver hairs and a scowl-like face, shrieked in fear and paranoia and it took some time before he calmed down. Although Kuroko had already accepted the fact that the blonde won't shut up about what they're about to do once he was told that they needed to go to the house of one of their former Teiko teammate to destroy a ritual site.

"Kise-kun, even I don't like this," Kuroko's voice was monotone but if it was Kagami who was listening to him, he would immediately detect the irritation and impatience that the tealnette is displaying, "But we have to do this if we want to get back out original faces and identities. Kise-kun, have you prepared the wood and gasoline? We needed to burn down his house of lucky items as soon as possible…"

"Hai…Kurokocchi…although I can't still believe you have the face of Akashicchi…" Kise knew that had he not heard the respectful language and the keigo he used, he could have sworn that it was just their former Teiko captain playing tricks on him, "Well, Kurokocchi, where should we start burning the place?"

"I'll go inside," Unknown to Kise, Kuroko actually had a .45 ACP pistol that was given to him by Tsuchimikado before they all separated at Kamijou's home. Not surprisingly, Kise once again shrieked unmanly as he was asked to hold the RIA M1911 for him. "Eeeeeh?! Kurokocchi, where did you even get this gun?!" He screeched as he holds the pistol, which looked polished with modern features as it had a double-stacked magazine and had a rail mount under the barrel.

"Kise-kun, there's no time for that," Kuroko really wanted to slap the Kaijo small forward's mouth if it wasn't for the time, "Give me the torch. I'm doing this myself!"

"Kurokocchi…" Kise felt like he was being shouted at by his former teammate as he watched the tealnette go inside the building. _Just like what Momocchi feared, you looked like you changed a lot. What happened? Is this the result of you losing to Aominecchi? You weren't even like that before._ The copycat didn't know if he would be glad or upset about his former mentor's sudden change but the sudden explosion inside snapped him out of his thoughts. As he was about to go in himself, he saw Kuroko suddenly running outside of the building, which was beginning to get engulfed on flames.

"Kurokocchi! Are you alright?!" Kise asked in genuine concern but was only replied with a small nod from Kuroko, who didn't even feel like shocked at the sudden explosion of the house.

"Now then, since I have finished my job here…" He quietly said, with a tinge of regret in his voice, "I'll have to do one last thing before I go back to Wadatsumi…"

Before Kise can react, he suddenly felt a hard object striking his nape. He briefly cried out in pain before his world had darkened. As the blonde fell dramatically on the floor, Kuroko blankly looked at him.

"I'm sorry, Kise-kun. You would only be a burden and at the same time, a liability on our part…I have no choice…we have to do this…"

* * *

When Touma and his father arrived at the hotel, they were shocked to find Index and Otohime all fast asleep, most likely drugged and to their shock, they saw the prostrate bodies of Midorima and Takao lying on the florr. On edge for the discovery, Touma quickly raced into his family's room, searching for any hints of the assailant or the whereabouts of the Angel Fall ritual site. Touya struggled to follow his son, both out of exhaustion and confusion.

"What is exactly going on here?" Touya begged.

"Listen, dad," Touma admitted as he turned around to face his father, "At this rate, people are going to die. To do that, we need to cancel Angel Fall…"

"So what is this Angel Fall?" Touya sounded confused.

"Quit pretending!" Touma held his father on a chokehold, "At least, tell me the location of the ritual!"

"Give it up, Kami-yan," a voice familiar to Touma said as a third person entered the room.

"Tsuchimikado…" Touma replied in surprise.

"Still haven't realized the truth, huh?" the double agent inquired, "And that's reasonable. Kami-yan, you, Kuro-yan, Kagami and Kiyoshi are all amateurs when it comes to the magic world. Too bad though that Kuroko seemed to perform much better than you."

"Wait, what do you mean?" Touma asked in surprise, "Are you saying my dad really is innocent?"

"No, no. The suspect is indeed Kamijou Touya," Tsuchimikado replied, "He doesn't know it himself, and that's the same case with Midorima Shintaro."

"What, do you mean?" Touma asked, blinking, "To cast Angel Fall, you need some big-scale ritual location..."

"Exactly. There was a ritual site…well, there is actually one that is smaller but basically, they're two of them. The first site is your home and the second one's the home of Kuro-yan's former Teiko teammate," Tsuchimikado revealed the bombshell, "Charms, folkcraft, occult goods, each one of them had no purpose as an individual. But if they're placed in correct locations accprding to the Feng Shui arrangement, compound effect takes place on each of them and they become one immense power. There was a red post box holder at the entrance, right? Red is the attribute of the South. There was a turtle, the guardian beast of water, in the bathtub area. In the kitchen was Byakko, the white tiger of "gold." I also checked Midorima's house quickly and found the same aspect. Combined those two and you have transformed everything into two temples. The second the couple left the door open to come here, the ritual location was complete and was activated."

"So a coincidence like that…"

"Yes, it was a coincidence," Tsuchimikado spoke, "Angel Fall was one magic spell that got activated by coincidence. If we had tampered with it and with another ritual site on mind, there's a possibility an even worse magic spell could have activated. I have already sent Kuroko to destroy the other smaller site but even he cannot it all by himself with Kagami and Kiyoshi helping Nee-chin fight off the angel. To completely cancel it, we needed to destroy it in one shot. If not, then we'll have to defeat the spell caster…"

"No… you can't…" Touma stuttered, realizing what his friend was implying "I won't let you hurt my dad…"

"I figured you would disapprove, not may people would," Tsuchimikado said with a shrug, "That's why I incapacitated the girls as well as the Shutoku players downstairs. I couldn't have more outsider and amateurs interfering in all of this. Sorry, orders from the Church. It may be unsavory, but it's my job so give it up, Kami-yan."

"Touma…" Touya tried to calm down things, only to be cut off by his son.

"Back away!" Touma ordered as he grits his teeth, "I won't accept this. If there was such a harsh rule that said someone had to be sacrificed, then I'm going to destroy that illusion first!"

Tsuchimikado can only grin as he pushes up his shades. Suddenly, he jumped from his position and before the boy can react, he already got struck in his back, causing him to fall easily on the floor.

"Take a nap there, amateur!" Tsuchimikado gave off a harsh glare.

"If it's me you want, do as you wish me!" Touya cried out, unable to just stand back and watch his son get hurt, "Don't hurt Touma even more!"

"Oh?" Tsuchimikado mused.

"I will not allow you to hurt Touma anymore!" Touya yelled.

"Don't make me laugh," the double agent challenged, sounding belittling, "You think you can beat me?"

"You're right, I don't," the middle-aged man admitted, "If you're going to hurt Touma again, I won't forgive you! You want to know why? Because I'm Kamijou Touma's father."

"Dad…" Touma said weakly as he stood up.

"Don't Touma!" Touya warned, "No one's going to be saved by protecting me."

"Screw that!" Touma denied, clenching his fists, "That someone is right here. I am Kamijou Touya's son!"

"Touma…" this father whispered, touched.

"You finally got a grip, it seems. Sure, I'll acknowledge…" Tsuchimikado mused, "that Kamijou Touma is Tsuchimikado Motoharu's enemy now..."

Not wanting he hear another word from his traitor of a friend, Touma rushed in with his fists at the ready. The spiky haired boy tried to land a jab at his enemy, only for the traitor to dodge with a simply lean to the right.

Eventually, Tsuchimikado grabbed and pulled Touma close and sucker punch him in the face before he grabbed the raven by the collar of his shirt and threw him threw the hotel room's paper sliding doors.

"Hey, hey, KO already?"

Not one to give up, Touma began to throw as many hits as he can in a last desperate move as he charged but the blonde easily dodged all of them. For his troubles, Tsuchimikado countered with a knee to his former ally's gut and a punch to the face, leaving Touma sprawling on the floor. Outraged by the attack on his son, Touya charged in with a punch of his own, but was easily stopped by a single punch to the stomach, leaving him unconscious on the ground.

"Dad…" Touma cried weakly as he watched his father fall.

"Now then," Tsuchimikado said as he reached into his open shirt, pulling out a vial of paper flakes, "Well then ladies and gentlemen, behold a magic full of tricks and mysteries. Today's stage is here. Let me began with the cumbersome preparation."

The blond boy scattered the paper flakes all across the floor of the room, coating every square centimeter of it. Once the flakes landed, the floor started to glow a brilliant blue light.

"And now, allow me to introduce my comrades of the magic brigade," Tsuchimikado continued, pulling out four more vials, each containing an origami animal, "Work, you fools. Suzaku…Seiryu…Genbu…Byakko…"

As he envoked the Japanese names of the Four Symbols of China, Tsuchimikado threw each vial containing the appropriate origami animal into a corner of the room pointing to their corresponding directions of south, east, north, and west. Once each vial landed, the origami inside them also started to glow in their respective colors, red, blue, black, and white.

"The pistol is complete. Now load the bullet," Tsuchimikado mused, "This bullet shall be one of ridiculously violent power. A seal will be cast on the pistol. A shikigami will be cast on the bullet…"

 _Wait a minute…Tsuchimikado shouldn't be able to use magic anymore…_ Kamijou was confused.

"Your hand will pull the trigg—"

As he finished his explanation, Tsuchimikado began to cough up blood, much to Touma's horror. A good bucket's worth of blood poured out of the sorcerer's mouth before he was able to speak again.

"I told you, Kami-yan." Tsuchimikado said as he turned to face the fallen boy, blood now starting to leak from his eyelids, "There's two ways to stop Angel Fall. Kill the spellcaster or destroy the magic seal."

"Stop it…" Touma begged, not wanting to watch the person he considered his friend sacrifice himself to stop the world threatening spell.

"Kami-yan, you're really like Kanzaki," the bleeding boy mused, "If she knew I was going to use this method, she'd stop at nothing to keep me from doing it. There's no point in protecting you if this wasn't the case. Sorry for beating you up like that. But yeah, at a ritual location like that, I can use my magic to—"

"Just stop it, Tsuchimikado…" Touma begged as Tsuchimikado started to cough up more blood.

"Sorry, I can't do that," the blond apologized as he was engulfed in a pillar of light, "Kami-yan, I'm actually...a liar…"

Out on the beach, Kanzaki continued to slash away at the fallen angel's attacks, doing her best to not be cut to shreds by them while Kiyoshi and Kagami acted as decoys as they kept running from one direction to another while firing their guns. As they all fought, Kanzaki and Kiyoshi noticed an arc of bright light fly across the sky before crashing somewhere in town, exploding on impact. _What the?_ Kagami himself stopped shooting the moment he saw the meteor-like object flew over their head. Once the explosion passed, the night sky suddenly became dusk again and the magic circle in the sky faded. A moment later, the angel in the form of Misha Kreutzev faded away, leaving no trace of ever being there.

In the silence of the angel's absence, Kanzaki fell on her knees from both exhaustion and relief. By some miracle, the spell known as Angel Fall had been stopped.

"Oi, Kanzaki, you alright?" Kagami himself felt relieved that it was all over as he slung his rifle to his back and ran to the angel.

"I don't know how you two did it, Touma Kamijou and Kuroko Tetsuya, but now I owe you two another one," the saint mused thankfully as Kiyoshi watched a twin explosion suddenly happen at the same time.

"I do hope Kuroko gets out unscathed on this one…" The Seirin center mumbled as he yawned, finally feeling the effects of fatigue creeping up to him.

* * *

The next day, Touma was back in Academy City, once again checked into his usual hospital room. As he sat in his bed, Touma couldn't help but think about what had happened during the Angel Fall incident. All he could do was wonder if there was some way to stop the spell without anyone having to die. The sight of Tsuchimikado's corpse lying there in a puddle of his own blood would forever haunt the wielder of Imagine Breaker.

"What was that, damn it?! What's the point without you.." he said to himself, feeling regretful.

"Long time no see, Kami-yan!" Tsuchimikado greeted as he walked into the room in perfect health with Kuroko, Kagami, and Kiyoshi, much to Touma's shock, "Doing good? You look like it."

"Huh?!" Touma yelled in confusion.

"What's wrong? You're as white as a sheet. You look like you've seen a ghost," Tsuchimikado pointed out.

"Wait, I thought for sure that you used magic and died—?!" Kamijou stammered.

"Ah…I lied!" Tsuchimikado admitted as Kuroko takes out an apple, "My weak Esper power is Auto Rebirth. I'm a Level 0, but I can still restore my body. Basically, I can use magic a few more times without trouble. It's all effort to explain all of these things."

"Effort?" Touma deadpanned.

"How many times do I have to tell you before you believe? I am a liar, in principle," Tsuchimikado reaffirmed, "That bit about me sneaking into Academy City to do spy work is a lie! In reality, I'm a counterspy only pretending to be on the side of the English Puritan Church . Actually, to tell you the truth that's also a lie! In reality, I'm a freelance spy hired to multiple agencies for espionage!"

"Tsuchimikado-kun, I think you need to stop," Kuroko began to speak as he noticed Touma already getting furious, "Besides, he needs some rest."

"Aw, don't be like that! All's well that ends well," the liar replied, "To show a bit of sincerity, O brought them over."

And it did cheer up Touma as suddenly, his entire familyenter the room, all of them looking totally normal. Kuroko then took this cue to speak, "Kamijou-kun, excuse us please." He then ushered the two Seirin bigmen outside the hospital lobby as to give privacy to the Kamijou family.

As soon as they sat down on the benches, Kagami began to speak, "To think I got to fight three of the Generation of Miracles plus a crazy archangel disguised as a Russian lady in just a span of a month is all getting me insane. But hey, at least I don't look like that dumbass Ahomine. I'm back to my old self."

"I actually thought I'm going to die when I saw those wings turn into glass but…" Kiyoshi then smiled goofily, "We're actually going to die when Riko meets with us again…"

 _Oh god…_ Both Kuroko and Kagami groaned as they remembered Hyuga, who was cursing the hell out of the three as the shooting guard swore he'll give them lots of pain as a gift.

"Oi, Kuroko, to you think this will be the last?" Kagami asked, all of the sudden.

Kuroko looked at him with a blink before he replied, "No, I don't even think we're in the climax yet."

* * *

At the top floor of the Windowless Building, Tsuchimikado Motoharu calmly stood before the founder and leader of Academy City, General Superintendent Aleister Crowley. He stood there casually in front of the mysterious human as he floated upside-down in his tube, as if this were a normal occurrence for him.

"Hello again, my brilliant double agent," Aleister greeted, "I take it the mission to neutralize Angel Fall went smoothly?"

"You of all people should know that, sir," the freelance spy replied, "The spell was neutralized, just as you requested. That is, with the help of Kuroko, Kagami, and Kiyoshi…"

"Excellent. I would hate it if it that rogue spell interfered with my plans," the upside-down person mused. "By the way, did you got rid of the memories of Midorima Shintaro, Takao Kazunari, and Kise Ryouta? It would be troublesome already if they also join into this plan of ours."

"Of course. Kuroko made good use of the pistol and license I gave him to knock out the blonde copycat." Tsuchimikado complimented, "I also got rid of Midorima's and Takao's memories. Those three won't be able to remember anything and every inch of evidence got erased even before Akashi Seijuro can do anything else. Well, I'll leave now…"

He then turned around and gave only a raised hand before he left as Aleister only smirked in return.

* * *

 _ **Sneak Peak for the next chapter!**_

 **Kuroko and Kagami both focused their energies on the incoming Winter Cup which is why the former wasn't able update himself that much on the Magical Side of the world, although he did get a call from Kamijou about the injury of his cousin Shirai and the attack of Sherry Cromwell. But it was during the dates of September of eight and nine that the tealnatte once again found himself having to assist Kamijou Touma once again after a report that the dangerous Book of the Law from the Vatican Archives was lost and that the reported place they would be meeting happened to be near Seirin High School. Kuroko and Kamijou found out that Stiyl had kidnapped both Index and Kagami so they would come to help him and, in a twist of events, the Seirin High School basketball club got involved as well. It would be the first magic experience of Riko, Hyuga, Izuki, Tsuchida, Koganei, Mitobe, Kawahara, Furihata, and Fukuda as they and the rest of the gang found themselves facing off against the group of Japanese Christians as well as a Catholic militia called the Agnese Forces. Right, Hyuga won't certainly forgive a gun-toting Kuroko, Kagami, and Kiyoshi for roping them all in trying to save Orsola Aquinas, a nun who was purported to be able to read the lost grimoire.**

 **See you in the next chapter!**


	14. The Book of the Law

Stiyl Magnus, the famed redhead fire-mage of Necessarius, walked down the streets of London in the early morning, feeling extremely puzzled.

There was nothing strange about the street itself that can send him on a state of utter confusion. Stone apartments and buildings—or what's left of it—more than three hundred years old lay on both sides of the street. Office workers and employees, with mobile devices in their hands, rushed down the old street. An London Buss transportation moved slowly forward, and workers on the street were busy dismantling a similarly old phone booth. An infusion of both the new and old history. Not what someone can call strange.

Nothing was wrong with the weather, either. There were few to no clouds in the sky that morning but the weather changed every four hours or so; thus, there were many people carrying their umbrellas around and besides, there is also the heat that made the use of umbrella justifiable. It was a hot day and as London was known for its foggy weather, that aspect of summer—the ever-changing weather—was something that could not be taken lightly. The increasing moisture caused by the intermittent rainfall, together with the Foehn wind and summer heat wave, resulted in amazingly high temperatures, so these rather enjoyable-looking tourist attractions had their own shortcomings as well. As for someone like Stiyl, who had already considered the shortcomings when he first chose to stay in that city, he did not mind it.

What made Stiyl feel somewhat fidgety was the strange girl beside him.

"Archbishop..." He called as he puts another cancer stick on his mouth.

"I thought I asked thee not to call me via that name," the girl replied as she held on to her umbrella. Dressed in a beige robe, the girl, who looked eighteen, spoke calmly in Japanese. In truth, according to regulations, a clergyman's attire could only have white, red, black, green, or purple, with threads of gold for decoration, so that girl was secretly breaking the rules. Her hair was shockingly long; it extended all the way to her ankles, then folded up and went behind her head, through the large silver hairpin that was holding it in place, and down again to her waist. In other words, its length was almost two and a half times her height.

She was Laura Stuart—the Archbishop of the 0th Parish of the Anglican Church's Necessarius.

In England, the king (or queen) was the highest-ranking leader of the Anglican Church. Archbishop Laura was considered the courier of the king, and her responsibility was to take over for the busy king and control the Anglican Church. But due to some political and magical circumstances, the power had lately reverted and now, Laura had the real influence.

But right now, the archbishop, who had such a large amount of power, freely walked the streets in the early morning without even a single bodyguard near her.

Stiyl and Laura were currently headed to a certain cathedral. At first, Laura had suggested that Stiyl meet her at the cathedral. She was supposed to have waited at the cathedral, and Stiyl was supposed to have gone there. But it seems that fate has different plans.

"Why are you talking in such a ridiculously archaic way?" Stiyl asked in a terse tone.

Suddenly, Laura stopped as she suddenly faced back at Stiyl in a childish manner, "Oh why…well…is it truly strange?!" She was panicking at her current standing position as she pouted, "I even had a local check to see if my speech is acceptable!"

"It was a gentleman named Tsuchimikado Motoharu," Laura replied in a smooth and soft way.

Stiyl grunted as he then realized why her speech looks stupid, "That guy is neither a gentleman nor a local," he snorted as he crosses his arms, "Don't use that man as an example a normal Japanese local! In fact, Kuroko from the Kamijou Faction is far more decent than that blonde."

As he spoke, Laura suddenly didn't pay attention to him as she took out what looked like a piece of paper and a pen from her wallet while pinning her umbrella between her large chest and right arm. Scribbling furiously, this act of hers made Stiyl suddenly stop his pissing contest as he returned to his serious expression. After a minute, she hands the paper to the fire mage and once Stiyl had it, he then whispered, "A communication talisman?"

Suddenly, the voice of the archbishop vibrated through the mind of Stiyl as Laura simply clasps her hands while smiling, "You know about The Book of the Law, correct?"

"A grimoire?" Stiyl grips the paper in his hands as he watches Laura slowly began to continue moving and eventually, he also started walking again, "If I remember correctly, the author was Edward Alexander. It was originally found in the Roman Church's Vatican Library. However, no one was able to decipher it."

"Even Index, who contains 103, 000 volumes?" Laura asked through the talisman as they silently pass by a gift shop.

Stiyl frowned as he didn't seem to like what Laura was implying, "What would you say if someone who could read The Book of the Law were to appear?"

"What!"

This time, Stiyl spoke rather verbally and with a loud tone as all of the sudden, he just attracted the attention of the people just innocently passing by who though he must have gone crazy when he shouted to no one—from their own perspectives. Laura must have sensed the awkward situation as she abruptly halts and turned to the sorcerer before signaling him to keep silent as much as possible. Stiyl can only sulk as they then pushed forward before the archbishop continued communicating through the talisman, "There is a Roman Catholic Sister by the name of Orsola Aquinas."

"Do they plan on using The Book of the Law as a method of regaining their power?" Stiyl asked.

"You need not to worry about that. At least not for now…" Laura looked like she had nothing to worry in life but what she was about to say next just surprised the fire sorcerer out of his wits, "…Because both The Book of the Law and Orsola Aquinas have been stolen."

"Tsk!" Stiyl felt disgusted as he stopped smoking his cigarette. In all of their talk, he didn't realize that they have just reached the gates of St. George's Cathedral—the _de facto_ seat of the Anglican Church and, in effect, the Necessarius branch.

"How about we discuss more about this inside?"

* * *

Since the resumption of classes at Seirin High School, Kuroko Tetsuya felt peace—or at least, that's how he felt about the majority of the days between today and the time when they went to the Wadatsumi in Kanagawa to stop Angel Arc.

This meant that in the meeting that was supposed to be only between him, Kamijou, Tsuchimikado, and Kanzaki, a lot of people had been dragged in it, namely Kagami Taiga, Kiyoshi Teppei, Takao Kazunari, Shintaro Midorima, and last but not the least, Kise Ryouta. All of whom are newcomers to the magic world that Kuroko can say he has now been familiar enough with it and in one instance, Tsuchimikado had to destroy the memories of Midorima, Takao, and Kise so that the presence of the magic factions will only remain within the Japanese elements of Necessarius and the key members of the Seirin High School basketball team.

A day after Kamijou has been released from the hospital, Kuroko and Kagami had to hide behind the door of the gymnasium as Riko, who was already furious as hell, nearly killed them as Kiyoshi was busy trying to pacify her. Hyuuga also wanted to go after their heads but opted not to as after all, their two rookies are the key future of their basketball club. Luckily for Kuroko, he didn't bring his motorcycle as it would have been a collateral damage from the anger and fury that their female coach is showing right now.

But aside from their usual basketball practices, Kuroko hadn't heard anything back from Kamijou, Tsuchimikado or from the members of the Magic Factions although he did got a call from his cousin Shirai, saying that there was a crisis from Academy City that suddenly entered in form of a person. Quickly calling Kamijou for confirmation, the tealnette immediately learned that the place was infiltrated by a magical agent named Sherry Cromwell and he would have gone up to Academy City himself if not for the fact that Kagami asked him for help in his low grades and as much as he wanted to say no, he still placed basketball as his number one priority and he decided to stay and help him. To his delight, the crisis caused by Sherry isn't much devastating as Accelerator or even the Angel Arc spell and it was resolved immediately within the day.

Right now, classes had just finished and as Kuroko was already packing up his belongings, he suddenly called out to Kagami, who was already putting away his notebook and was about to pick up his duffel bag.

"Kagami-kun."

"Yeah, Kuroko?" Kagami immediately asked. He knew it must be something important.

Kuroko blinked as he replied, "I'll be attending in a short meeting with Hitomi-san's group in preparation for the report in two days. For now, please go first and I'll just catch up. Also, don't let anyone else get near my locker room."

Kagami snorted as he picks up his duffel bag, "Tsk. Why do you have to keep you M1911 gun in a _basketball locker room_ of all places? Well, actually, why did that Tsuchimikado even gave you guns in the first place? I've known you long enough to know that you're not a serial killer nor a murderer and a war freak…"

"As he said, it's for self-defense against other magical factions. Currently, only you, me, and Kiyoshi-senpai knows the existence of the magical world aside from those in Academy City. I even had to turn down an invitation from Akashi-kun since he must ran out of patience in asking answers from Kise-kun and Midorima-kun," Kuroko explained, remembering how the blonde small forward of Kaijo nearly got stabbed in the eyes by Akashi as the former failed to explain what Kuroko was doing in Kanagawa since the blonde lost his memories about the said incident. Kuroko did pity him but it was a small price to pay to save the world from Angel Arc, "Besides, it's only small arms kept there. The Uzi submachine gun and a SAR-21 bullpup rifle were kept at home and they were also given by Tsuchimikado-kun as a form of compensation after Kamijou-kun's hospitalization. By the way, have you also kept your compensation?"

"I'm lucky that my dad doesn't live with me or else, he'd be freaking out as to why a teenager like me had a Remington shotgun!" Kagami growled, "Not to mention Kiyoshi-senpai's airhedeadness that he might end up pointing his own M1911 pistol at coach and captain."

"Kagami-kun, keep silent and let's move now," Kuroko shushed as he and the tall Seirin power forward then walked towards the door and separated when once they were outside. Briskly walking, it didn't take long before Kagami noticed five familiar people all coming from a different direction walking into the same path as the power jumper.

"Oh, Kagami!"

"Oh, Koganei-senpai…Tsuchida-senpai…Kawahara…Furihata…and…" Kagami struggled to remember one of them before he did remember, "…Fukuda…"

"So you're coming to practice, right?" Koganei asked something quite stupid although Kagami just didn't mind, "Well, we just came out of class and where's Kuroko? He better not be skipping another round of training regimen. You all know what will happen if you two skipped." Koganei then checked around just to make sure than the normally invisible Kuroko really isn't present.

"Kuroko's just attending a meeting concerning a report in our class that would be due in two days," Kagami explained, "And it's not like the runt wants to skip, you know. It's just that…things have been rather strange that it forced us to work it out…" He bit his tongue, not wanting to mention things like Angel Fall or the Russian Orthodox Church to guys like Koganei or Tsuchida lest he wanted to be called insane.

"You sure? Well, you see, Kuroko's been acting very strange…" Tsuchida said as they were already outside of the main school building, "I mean, yes, he's still the same invisible and bored-looking guy but recently, he looks as if he's on edge, like he's watching outside like a hawk waiting for his prey. And thinking about it, his basketball skills also developed abnormally fast! It looked like the said training in Academy City look advanced."

"Well…yeah…" Kagami can only nod as he wanted to kill Kuroko for leaving him in this awkward moment. _Dammit Kuroko and the stupid magic world!_ He can only mentally rage as he grips on the handle of his duffel bag. If he remembered correctly, Tsucimikado had test-fired Kuroko's bullpup assault rifle in a way that the bullet nearly grazed Kagami's cheek and this sent him to nearly killing the blonde if it wasn't for the Blonde Backstabber's ability to keep a person sitting literally in the ground.

"By the way, who wants to have ice cream after practice?" Furihata asked rather nervously, "Me and Fukuda and Kawahara were planning to ask out both Kuroko and Kagami for an ice cream session and since you senpais are here, we might as well ask you out for cold treats as well."

"Sounds good!" Koganei cheered as he immediately accepted it.

"Let's ask coach and Hyuga first although I'm pretty sure they would accept. It's always tiring after practice so—" Tsuchida would have continued it but suddenly, a strange and foreign voice cut him off.

"I don't think that's possible, as of the moment…"

Suddenly, all the five basketball players halted on their tracks as all of the sudden, a voice none of them are familiar with suddenly joined their conversation. Feeling an intense energy coming from their backs, all of them turned and they nearly gawked when they saw a very tall, redheaded foreign man whose height immediately overshadows both Kagami and even Kiyoshi. The said man was smoking a cigarette and was sporting a black habit that makes him look like a satanic priest. He also had a barcode tattoo and rings in his hands and ears.

 _Scary!_ Was the only thought than ran into the minds of Tsuchida and Koganei as they were both shivering under the gaze of the man, who literally overshadowed them.

"I take it that you are an associate and teammate of Kuroko Tetsuya…" the man quickly glanced at Kagami, who suddenly felt a surge in his adrenaline as his instincts tell him this isn't a good scenario, "Then to cut things short, where is he?"

"Wh-What do you want with Kuroko and how do you know him?!" Kagami's muscled tense as he was prepared for a possible fight.

"It seems that you do look like an idiot, as Kanzaki and Tsuchimikado said…" The man snorted, quickly fueling Kagami's already hot-headed state, "Seeing that your IQ isn't even halfway of Kuroko's brain, I'll have to introduce myself. I'm Stiyl Magnus and I'm a member of Necessarius…"

"Necessarius? You mean…" It finally clicked on Kagami's brain as he remembered that he heard that term from Kuroko and a certain Saint with a large bust, "You belong to that maniac Magic organization who just fought off that stupid Archangel that disguised as a Russian lady from some Eastern Church?!"

"It seems that for an imbecile, you do have a sharp memory," Stiyl sounded unimpressed, "Then you're right. The reason why I'm here is because we needed his assistance again since the Imagine Breaker is stupid as you are…"

"Why you…" Fed up with the insults, Kagami lunged at the taller priest but Stiyl simply evaded it and before the Seirin ace can see it coming, he was kneed violently on the stomach. Kagami ended up crashing on the floor as Stiyl then used a magic spell that sent the hulking power forward to a deep sleep. Quickly picking up the power forward, he then pushed a letter towards Koganei, who had to be pushed forward by an equally frightened Tsuchida to get the letter.

"Give that to Kuroko. Other than that, no word should come out about this unless you five have a death wish."

As much as the five basketball cagers wanted to fight back, they can't do anything but to nod in fear.

* * *

"Thanks a lot, Hitomi-san…"

"Actually, it should be me who should be thanking you a lot!" Hitomi Sarada cheerfully hugged their talnette member, who didn't flinched although he didn't hugged her back, "I mean, you were the reason why we were able to come up with this concept. It would make our report as easy as a piece of cake and at the same time, it would interest out classmates!"

"Well, it would interest everyone except for Kagami-kun…"

"Ah yeah. That Bakagami…" Hitomi wanted to crush a piece of paper cup as she remembered a certain redhead tall student, "I'm pretty sure Hanesaki's group is now regretting in picking up that idiot Bakagami-kun. I heard that Ayano-chan had to practically drag your basketball teammate in a library so that he could come on time at their meeting."

"Well…Bakagami's a Bakagami…" Shinoda Chiyou, another female groupmate of Kuroko snickered, "I mean, he sleeps all day in class…"

"Hnnn. I guess Kagami-kun's really like that," Kuroko sighed at the ugly reputation of his best friend, "But on the other hand, he's reliable on basketball…"

"Yeah, it's pretty obvious. I mean, he thinks nothing but basketball every day and all day," Shinoda groans.

Kuroko can only sigh as he knew that the two girls got a point. "I'll take my leave now since I also need to attend to our basketball practice."

Quickly leaving the area, he then walked straight ahead as he picked up his duffel bag and proceeded to go to the basketball gymnasium. But as he was already nearing the proximity of the gym, he then heard what looked like to be a ruckus inside the gymnasium even is he still had to cover a considerable distance to reach the area. _Uh, did something happened?_ The only time something like that happened was when he pissed off Riko by not telling her the exact reason why he as well as Kagami and Kiyoshi left for Kanagawa.

Sprinting towards the gymnasium, he then pushed the doors, only to be greeted by the sight of a worried Hyuga, a troubled Riko, a confused Kiyoshi, and a shivering certain group of five people, who looked like they had seen a ghost as they faces are pale white.

"Anou…coach…captain…what is happening?" Kuroko calmly asked them but due to his lack of presence, he instead scared the hell out of them.

"Kuroko! Konoyaro!" Riko shrieked as she held on her heart.

"I'm sorry coach but what's happening here?" Kuroko asked as he noticed that every one of the boys is still on their regular school uniforms and not on their practice t-shirts and shorts, "And why aren't you all changed…"

Izuki, who was serious for once instead of spouting his useless puns, then sent a look at Koganei, who only gulped before he then gives an envelope to Kuroko, "Ku-Kuroko…a strange man had taken away Kagami…"

"Huh?" The tealnette didn't know how to react. As far as he knows, a _normal_ Japanese person wouldn't be able to overpower someone of Kagami's build.

"Just read the letter…" Tsuchida looked like he didn't want to relieve those painful memories some minutes back as Kuroko rips the letter open. He then read aloud:

 _Dear Kuroko Tetsuya,_

 _If you value this idiot's life, then tonight at seven, come to the abandoned theater called Gloaming House. If possible, come alone but knowing that team of yours, I doubt you can keep that. You might as well tell this teammate of yours by the name of Kiyoshi Teppei to bring the weapons that Tsuchimikado gave to him._

Although he had a good idea on who it might be, Kuroko decided to ask just to make sure he wasn't wrong, "Anou…Koganei-senpai, can you describe what this kidnapper looks like?"

"Well…he was tall. Actually, he looked like he was even taller than Kiyoshi…" Koganei began to recall, "He looks like an Englishman but his Japanese is surprisingly fluent. His hair is red like Kagami's and he had a strange barcode tattoo under his right eye. He was smoking a lot of those cancer tubes and he had a lot of earrings…"

Kuroko sighed. It was _him_ all along. "Ah, it's fine, Koganei-senpai…" the Phantom Sixth Man of the Generation of Miracles replied, "I know him personally…"

Furihata gawked at him in surprise, "Huh?! You personally knew Kagami's kidnapper?!"

"It's a long story but yes, Furihata-kun. We've met back at Academy City…" he then keeps the letter on his pocket, "By the way, me and the guy would be meeting at the abandoned Gloaming House…"

"Wait…Gloaming House…isn't that just a stone's throw away from here?" Hyuga asked, his ears perking up at hearing the familiar place.

"Yes but I need to keep walking now, Kiyoshi-senpai…"

"Hmmm?"

"Since it's a delicate mission, I needed to get _those_ things from my locker room," Kuroko said and at once, Kiyoshi understood as he immediately got serious although this only got the rest of the team even confused. The tealnette then sprinted towards their locker room at once and he didn't waste time in opening his locker, revealing a shiny RIA M1911 with the rail mount under the barrel. _I don't want to do this but the situation calls for it, unfortunately._ He sighed as he then checks the double-stacked magazine if it's loaded properly. But as he was putting his pistol on his belt, a ring came out of his cellphone. Quickly pulling out his device, he was shocked to see who the caller was.

"Uh…hello, Kamijou-kun," Kuroko was surprised to hear that it was none other than a certain Imagine Breaker, "Uh…huh…uh…huh…huh, what?"

He didn't know whether he should be amused or not by what he just heard on the phone. But one thing's for sure.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

The abandoned Twilight Theater was located some ten to fifteen minutes away from Seirin High School.

Business had stopped just three weeks ago, which was why the building still did not look damaged. Furthermore, all the interior equipment had been removed, so it seemed rather empty inside right now, and, as no one had swept the area since then, everything was covered in dust. It could not be considered a ruin, though. The place could be reopened if one cleaned it up and reinstalled the equipment.

"Let me out, you freaking priest! Let me out!"

Kagami Taiga was currently yelling in rage as he was bounded in chains by Stiyl Magnus, who was ignoring the pleas of the Seirin power forward. As the cager was struggling to escape, another captive, which was surprisingly Index, the bearer of the 103, 000 grimoires, was peacefully sitting on the floor in front of Stiyl. Currently, the three people are inside the abandoned theater of the Gloaming House as they were waiting for certain individuals to arrive.

"I think you know most of what's going on," Stiyl ignored Kagami and turned his attention to Index, who simply nodded.

"The Book of the Law has gone missing," the silver-haired nun replied in a tone of urgency, "And the only person capable of deciphering it, Orsola Aquinas, was also kidnapped, right? And apparently, the Amakusa Catholics are responsible, right?"

"And what does this have to do with Kuroko, teme!" Kagami was listening to their conversation and although he didn't understand most of it, he knew getting kidnapped just for the sake of drawing out his teammate and shadow means this business isn't just something for a prank.

"Will you just shut up there, Kagami Taiga? We don't need your mouth here in this meeting," Stiyl barked rather rudely, "You've been yapping there like a madman."

"I won't be acting like this if it wasn't for the fact that you kidnapped me and sent a note telling Kuroko to come here!" Kagami retorted with a dark expression.

Stiyl sighed as he calmed down, remembering what a certain archbishop told him…

* * *

" _How on earth was it taken from that secured Vatican Library?!"_

 _Stiyl asked Laura, who was currently eating her snack while they were seated at the porch of St. George's Cathedral._

" _The Roman Catholic Church was transporting The Book of the Law to a Japanese museum," Laura began to explain as she closes her eyes and stops eating. This earned a scoff from Stiyl, who claims that it was ridiculous. "So is this why the Roman Catholic Church is requesting the help from the Anglican Church?"_

" _No," Laura replied as she sips her tea, "We have a much bigger problem on our hands."_

" _Which is?"_

" _I haven't been able to contact Kanzaki," Laura said with a very serious expression, "Kanzaki was formerly the top priestess of the Amakusa Church. If she were to find out that the Amakusa Church and the Roman Catholic Church have turned against each other…it would have dire consequences. I'd like you to settle this mess before Kanzaki does anything."_

 _She then sliced a portion of her cake._

" _By any means necessary."_

 _Stiyl looked a bit grim, "Kanzaki is a Saint, one of the less than twenty in the world," he argued, "Don't tell me you want to fight her…"_

" _If such need arises…" Laura looked unperturbed by that possibility, "I want you to go to Academy City first and Stiyl, take this with you." Laura then stood up and pulled out an iron cross before she hands it to the fire mage._

" _What's this?"_

" _Consider it a small gift for Orsola," Laura posed cutely before turning her back, "And get in touch with Index, her caretaker and if possible, the Seirin boys that you were babbling to me before."_

 _Stiyl didn't know how to react on that._

" _We'll need both a specialist and people who were familiar with the geography outside Academy City, won't we?" Laura smiled innocently as possible, "I think Kuroko and Kagami as well as this Kiyoshi person would be helpful in case you get engaged in a bloody battle." She chuckled in the end._

* * *

Stiyl can only huff at that meeting with Laura Stuart as he smokes another cigarette.

"Why are you dragging Touma, Tetsuya, Taiga, and Teppei into this?!" Index demanded, "I don't know myself. The latter three, I guess they're the ones who know this place quite well. As for Kamijou Touma…why do I even have to work for him…" He bitterly noted as he walks away from Index.

"So you're going to go all away to the Amakusa Church's base?" Index asked.

"No, the circumstances have slightly changed," Stiyl replied as Kagami can only listen to them, each time cursing.

Suddenly, they heard what looks like to be sounds of footsteps created by high heels slowly nearing the building. As the three got their attention on the open door in their back, the sound only got louder. After a few seconds, an individual entered, all clad in a nun's costume.

* * *

"Kuroko-kun! I don't get why you own a gun!"

"Coach's right, Kuroko! Why the hell do you have a gun in your possession?"

"Kuroko…!"

"Kuroko...!"

"Kuroko…!"

The tealnette in question can only sigh as he was tempted to tune them out while they were walking towards a certain bus station. Ever since having to bring Kiyoshi to their meeting with Kamijou, who requested to meet in a certain rendezvous, he was little surprised when his teammates and coach finally demanded that they tag along as they were curious as to what is this about again. And when Kuroko was about to cook up some made-up story Izuki noticed a bulge in Kuroko's belt and when they found out that it was an actual firearm, all hell break loose.

"Senpais…" Kuroko tried to sound as polite as possible though he himself is beginning to lose hi patience, "We're supposed to save Kagami-kun from this friend of mine, not argue whether it is right for me to bring a gun on public."

"That's because it's against the law, Kuroko-kun!" Riko shrieked, tempted to lock her shadow player in a Boston Crab position, "If we're just going to rescue Bakagami, can't we just call the police instead?!"

Kiyoshi decided to intervene on behalf of the embattled tealnette, "Riko, this is a very complex situation so I don't think calling the police would solve the problem. It's a thing that only Kuroko understands…"

"Well…bringing a gun as well as meeting a weird priest-like figure is very taxing for my brain…" Tsuchida complained as he was walking behind the large group, "By the way, who are we supposed to meet up with before we go and save Kagami's ass?"

"It's someone me and Kiyoshi-senpai knows personally," Kiyoshi can only smile as the words of their passing specialist caused everyone to give him a blank stare, "The thing is, the companion of this friend of mine is also kidnapped by the same guy so I suspect that they're being kept in the same area. And Kiyoshi-senpai, did you bring your own gun?"

"It's in my back. Don't worry, Kuroko. We got your back," Kiyoshi smiled goofily as Hyuga simply smacks him.

"Ahou!"

Looking at his watch, Kuroko noticed that it was just past 6 PM; there was still nearly one hour until the time indicated in the letter. Another thought that came up on his mind is the fact that if a battle does occur immediately, how the hell should the others fights back? He, Kagami and Kiyoshi would be fine since they have something to use as a weapon while he had brought along Kagami's shotgun which he got from his house using an extra key given to him. In contrast, the next lethal weapon the group has is Izuki's slingshot which was used in a presentation, Riko's slapping fan kept in her bag, and Furihata's staff which was also used in a school presentation. _What the hell can those things do?_ Kuroko groaned mentally as they spotted a bus stop where they promised to meet up. Immediately leaning to a post, he then inhaled and exhaled as he then brings out a can of cold, dark coffee and began to slurp in quietly.

"Woah, Kuroko, since when did you start drinking coffee?" Izuki asked, quite surprised.

"Anou…since I started training in Academy City," Kuroko replied although he felt somewhat uncomfortable with the question.

Koganei piped in, "That's strange in itself because you used to suck up so many vanilla milkshakes before you even went to Academy City."

"Well, be happy that he ditched too much sugar, Koganei although I still can't accept the fact that our polite Kuroko-kun had a gun in his hands," Riko sighed as he decided to just go with the flow for now. Kiyoshi, meanwhile, was busy checking his own M1911 to see if he had enough ammunition while he was being watched by Hyuga, who looked a bit creeped out with his serious expression. In some ways, the clutch captain would rather have a goofy Iron Heart rather than a serious one, which says something about the kind of person Kiyoshi is.

At that moment, Kuroko found two individuals walking near the same position where they are and was elated to see who it was. _Kamijou-kun and…who is that…_

The individual whom the Imagine Breaker is with seemed like a foreigner, and was about as tall as the spiky haired boy. She was busy scanning around the area surrounding them, however, and it seemed like she was having trouble.

Her attire, a black nun's habit that she still wore in such hot weather, was rather unique. Naturally, the sleeves and the dress were long. Squinting, Kuroko noticed long silver zippers around the elbows and about twenty centimeters above the knees. It seemed like the sleeves and skirt of the nun's habit were detachable, though she had not done that. Her hands were covered with thin white gloves, and her hair could not be seen, for it was not only covered by a nun's cap, like what Index wore, but also a scarf. Since her hair could be covered just like that, it would seem she had short hair.

Kuroko looked at her out of the corner of his eye and thought. _Uh, it's a nun...could she be a killer nun who's related to Index-san?_

"Kuroko! Kiyoshi-senpai!"

The two mentioned boys blinked as the rest got their attentions captured by the arrival of the two new guests in the area.

"Kamijou-kun…" Kuroko stood up from his leaning position and quickly sprinted up to meet with the spiky haired boy, who seemed a bit exhausted from walking around the area before meeting up with the tealnette.

"Ara…ara…are you tired?" It was at this point that the nun that was with Kamijou suddenly spoke to him like she was extremely concerned of the boy's well-being. _I don't know but all of the sudden, I had the feeling that the nun's as dumb as Kise-kun._ Kuroko observed as the rest of the Seirin team was watching with somewhat weird faces.

"Eh? Does Kuroko also know that nun?" Hyuga asked as he pushes up his glasses.

Izuki snorted, "I don't know…"

The nun was busy wiping off the sweat from Kamijou's face that not surprisingly, she didn't noticed that presence of tealnette, who simply stared at the two.

"Uhm…Orsola…I needed to talk with Kuroko real quick…" Kamijou pleaded.

"Uhm…who…" The nun named Orsola blinked and turned, only to see a mop of light blue that she didn't noticed a while back. The moment her eye sight caught it, she felt like her heart beat exploded as she staggered back before recomposing herself, "Uh…huh…w-well, I'm sorry if I didn't see you. I'm Orsola Aquinas…"

"I don't mind. I'm pretty used to it," Kuroko noted the foreign look of the nun and deduced that she must have been Italian by origin, "By the way, I'm Kuroko Tetsuya and I'm a member of the basketball club of Seirin High School near here and…" He then calmly introduced his teammates, who all gathered near around them in sheer interest, "Kamijou-kun, Orsola-san, these are my Seirin basketball teammates. This is Hyuga Junpei-senpai, our captain. Then there's Aida Riko-san and Kiyoshi Teppei-senpai, our coach and bigman, respectively. There is Izuki Shun-senpai, Mitobe Rinnosuke-senpai, Koganei Shinji-senpai and Tsuchida Satoshi-senpai. There's also Kawahara-kun. Furihata-kun, and Fukuda-kun…"

"Ah…I see…nice to meet you, Hyuga-san," Orsola then reached out her right hand.

"A-Ahhh…" Hyuga awkwardly chuckled as he took it and shook hands, "Nice to meet you too…"

 _Hyuga, you're so difficult and clumsy._ Izuki sighed as the nun seemed to be looking around and this caused the point guard to ask, "Excuse me, Orsola-san but you looked a bit troubled. Is something wrong?"

Kamijou decided to be the one to speak for her, "Well sirs, Orsola ran into a bit of a trouble," He then motioned to Kuroko, "Kuroko, Kiyoshi-senpai, be on guard. According to her, she's being chased by a group of magicians around here. I can't bring her to Academy City because…you know…"

The tealnette became alerted as he then cocks his pistol, "Well…I did sensed that something must be happening as Kagami-kun got kidnapped by Stiyl. He must have done that to catch my attention although I didn't know what it is for now…"

As Kuroko and Kamijou were both exchanging topics with Orsola, Hyuga suddenly turned to Kiyoshi, who was busy in checking if his shotgun is fully-loaded, "Oi, Kiyoshi, what is the meaning of this?! You can't possibly believe in what she's saying!"

"Yeah, I mean, magicians? The only magicians I know are the ones I see performing on streets…" Koganei added.

Kiyoshi sighed. _As expected. They don't know yet what really exists beyond the knowledge found on text books. I guess I should let Kuroko explain this._ He thought as he then realizes that if that were to happen, the possibility that another Angel Fall-like battle occurring isn't far-fetched and this time, the Seirin basketball team would be involved, "I think you should first wait and see what happens in the next 48 hours. It's something all of you won't understand for now but Kuroko and Kagami as well as myself had experienced and seen what real magic is." _And then that really happens, I do hope you get to have decent weapons as much as I hate that idea._

"Te-Teppei…" Riko can only gape in surprise. This was one of the rare times she had heard him use that dead-serious voice and this moment wasn't even on a basketball game.

* * *

Stiyl and Index walked out of the theater hall of the Twilight Theater and arrived at the lobby, which seemed to be where the ticket booth had originally been. Along the way, the Fire Mage had dragged the hapless Kagami Taiga, who can only growl angrily as his face is rubbing on the floor.

A girl in a black nun's habit was walking in front of them.

She seemed to be a year or two younger than Index. Her hair was reddish, much like the hairs of Stiyl and Kagami, and was tied into many pencil-thin braids. The sleeves of her robe nearly covered her fingers, but her skirt was so short that her thighs were exposed. Looking closely, there seemed to be something that looked like a zipper on the lower edge of her skirt. It seemed like the skirt was part of a detachable dress, but only the lower half had been removed. She appeared extremely thin, as her slim waist was even slimmer than Index's, who was rather thin herself.

She was about as tall as Index, but she wore soft wooden sandals with soles about thirty centimeters thick; as she walked, they made a sound like horseshoes tapping on the ground. Those sandals were called "chopines", and had been very fashionable in Italy during the seventeenth century.

She was a nun from the Roman Catholic Church.

"The situation's a mess," The petite nun began to grunt, "Our information's all over the place too. I don't even know if we've secured The Book of the Law…"

"Oi…" Of all people present, it was Kagami who decided to interrupt, "I get that you're looking for something magical again but at the very least, can you introduce yourself? Even this bastard here had the decency to tell his name…"

"Ah…I'm sorry for the late introduction…" The redhead nun apologized quickly as she tells her name, "I'm Agnese Sanctis from the Roman Catholic Church."

"Stiyl Magnus…" Stiyl decided to go with the flow.

"Kagami Taiga…" The other redhead in the group gritted his teeth.

"Index Librorum Prohibitorum…"

"Well, what kind of spell did the Amakusa Church use?" Stiyl immediately asked.

Agnese shook her head, "To be precise, we don't have any idea on it as well. Just now, we ambushed the Amakusas as they were deporting Orsola. Although some of us managed to save her, she got taken away by them again before the rest could meet up with her. Then we got her back, but then another group of Amakusas captured her again and this went on and on and on. Because the area in which we trapped them was too big, it ended up that each group had too few people despite our large numbers, and the Amakusas got an opportunity. Just as both sides were fighting to get Orsola, she disappeared again."

Agnese's Japanese was mixed with polite honorifics and rude words.

 _If she learned her Japanese while doing her mission in Japan, then it seems like the Japanese people that she talked to were mostly detectives or policemen._ Stiyl thought.

 _Is it just me or is that her Japanese is a bit…disorganized?_ Even Kagami was thinking the same thing and his worst subject was Japanese language.

He saw Agnese turn around to look at him. Her short skirt lifted slightly, revealing even more of her snow-white thighs. _Kagami, this isn't the time to become a pervert!_ The Seirin power forward screeched to himself as he looked away on the opposite direction.

"What, you two fellow redheads got a problem?" Agnese asked aggressively but it quickly clicked to her mind what was wrong, "Ah, I'm sorry, it's not that I don't speak English, but my English has a very heavy Italian accent. I don't really mind if I'm talking to people of other countries, but I don't dare show my inferior English to you Englishmen."

Stiyl did not seem to mind, as he shook the cigarette in his mouth and said, "You don't have to worry about those trivial issues; we can even talk in Italian. Kagami Taiga here is only a bait and someone who's doing the dirty job so pay no attention to the barbarian…"

"Who are you calling a barbarian?!"

"Please don't speak Italian," Agnese ignored the raging Kagami as she suddenly became haughty, "If I were to hear anyone speak Italian with such a strong British accent, I'd probably laugh so much that I wouldn't be able to focus on my work. In this situation, it's better to use another language that we can communicate with, like Japanese. No one will argue if we use a language that neither of us are comfortable with."

Agnese's thick sandals continued to make that horseshoe-tapping sound.

 _These nun's a bit of a headache._ Stiyl sighed while Index hasn't spoken yet.

Stiyl stole a glance at Index, who was still unhappy as she curled her lips, not saying a single word.

He then turned back to Agnese and said, "Then, does that mean that the Amakusa Church, who stole The Book of the Law and Orsola from you guys, is a threatening force?"

"You want to say that the largest Christian sect in the world, the Roman Catholic Church, is useless despite looking so strong, right?" Agnese spat back, "To be honest, we can't argue against that. Just by looking at the numbers and armaments, we clearly have the upper hand, but they have the geographical advantage, especially since Japan is their territory. We're really angry over being overwhelmed by a much smaller organization, but I have to admit, they're really strong."

"So it seems that they won't just surrender quietly," Stiyl pulls out another cigarette and lights it up, "But that's why we have Kuroko Tetsuya from the Japanese side. He's someone who can help us in terms of geography…"

"Oh so now, you're roping Kuroko into these?!" Kagami didn't like how Stiyl worded out his sentence.

"Can you actually shut up there, ruffian?" Stiyl insulted Kagami once more, "You know, I'm quite unfamiliar with Christian history in Japan. Do you know what kind of techniques they use? Maybe I can make use of how the enemy fights to prepare some searching or defensive types of magical circles or talismans."

Agnese seemed to find it difficult to answer the question that the priest had raised, "To be honest…we haven't yet gathered enough information regarding the techniques that the Amakusas use. Since they're derived from the Jesuits, they should be a branch of the Roman Catholic Church. But they've been so greatly influenced by the indigenous beliefs and cults in Japan and to some extent, from China that they're now completely different from the Roman Catholic Church."

Stiyl turned to look at Index, wanting to seek her some advice.

Now was the right time for Index, who had knowledge exceeding ten thousand times that of a normal person, to fulfill her role, "The special trait of the Amakusa Church is secrecy. They don't use spells or magic circles plainly. They hide all rituals and incantations in everyday actions and customs. Their version of Christianity was deeply infused with Shinto and Buddhist concepts that even professional magicians cannot discern their true identity."

Index then breathed in before continuing.

"Thus, it would put Tetsuya's Misdirection to shame in terms of plain trickery," the silver-haired nun replied, causing Kagami's eyes to widen.

Stiyl shook the cigarette in his mouth and said, "So, this is a group of experts highly skilled in Idol Theory. Hnn, seems like their specialty would be long-range sniping and not close-range combat. Hopefully, they don't have a large technique like the Gregorian Chant. I do hope Tsuchimikado had taught Kiyoshi something useful…"

 _Huh? What? What is this Magnus guy saying about Tsuchimikado teaching Kiyoshi something?_ Kagami was of course curious as he heard the words come out of the mouth of the English priest but before he can even ask anything about it…

"Oh, it's Touma and Tetsuya and Teppei! And there are a lot of people with them!"

Quickl, Agnese looked behind her and the moment she saw the large mass of people, she froze as she recognized one of them.

"Orsola Aquinas?"

* * *

If Kamijou Touma wasn't pissed before at how the things came to be, he is certainly going to be, right now.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Kuroko had to restrain the raging Imagine Breaker from physically smacking Stiyl as a while back, Kagami was finally freed and was furiously complaining about every horrible treatment that he endured, "Why did you pretend to kidnap both Index and Kagami?!"

"Oh so you saw right through it?" Stiyl mocked the smaller boy as he simply holds his cigarette, "I was just going to have both you and Kuroko assist me in finding a missing individual. And besides, Kuroko, I already expected that Kiyoshi Teppei would be with you but not this large group of useless people." He then looks disgustingly at Izuki's slingshot, "Don't tell me that this team of yours thinks that this is a mere playground…"

Hyuga got provoked at the redhead's taunts and it was only through the efforts of the similarly-incensed Izuki and Koganei that he was being restrained from attacking the Fire Mage.

"I'm sorry for this but you can't blame them, Stiyl," Kuroko politely apologized then turned serious, "If you're just going to ask for assistance, you should have just relayed to me me through phone or a text instead of kidnapping a teammate. It would have avoided such…complications…"

"I supposed you're right, Kuroko," Stiyl looked impressed at how the tealnette managed to keep his head cool while reminding him of an actual fatal mistake, contrasting to the anger shown by Kamijou, "It seems to me that I should have used more humane methods of catching your attention but right now, that can wait later. So speaking as a gentleman to a gentleman, I would be grateful if you will turn us over that sister…"

Irritated, Stiyl blew the smoke from the cigarette out of his mouth and said, "The nun beside you is the person we're looking for. Her name is Orsola Aquinas. Thanks for your help, Kamijou Touma and Kuroko Tetsuya. All of you can go back now."

"Hey. Using a kidnapping as an excuse to lure me out, forcing me to use these documents that came from who-knows-where to leave Academy City, then making me walk three kilometers under the big, hot sun when the temperature's around forty degrees Celsius... and now you're telling me to go back?" Kamijou muttered.

"Didn't I thank you already? What, do you expect me to treat you to some shaved ice?"

Kamijou Touma lowered his head, gritting his teeth. Index stood near him, her face looking pale, not knowing what to do. Kuroko and Kiyoshi were the same as they really didn't know how to defuse the now-growing tension. The Seirin basketball team, not really knowing what really is happening around them, felt no better as they tried to stand on neutral grounds and opted to just watch the ongoing drama.

Something near Kamijou's temple broke, creating a "pow" sound.

"And here I was, thinking that I'd try to get along with you even if our personalities don't match! But now I've changed my mind!"

"Stop saying all that nonsense and hand Orsola over to Agnese. Don't tell me you want me to alleviate that loneliness? Such a pity. I can't do it, and neither do I want to. That's too gross." Stiyl can't help but mock Kamijou as he blows smoke in his face.

Moved with pity over what he sees as a sadistic torture to the Imagine Breaker, Kuroko decided to speak to break the tension, "Anou…actually, there's something that I want to ask since it's been bothering me for quite some time." He then turns his attention to Orsola, "Orsola-san, can you tell me why you said that you were being hunted?"

For some reason, after hearing Kamijou's words, Orsola trembled. It seemed like she wanted to suppress her shock, but had failed to.

Upon seeing that, Kiyoshi and Kagami felt suspicious. Orsola was not looking at Kuroko but at Stiyl and Agnese, who had a poker face.

"No way. It won't be so easy to take Orsola back."

The voice came from above Riko's head. Everyone looked upward and saw a softball-sized paper balloon floating about seven meters above them. The thin paper surface of the balloon continued to vibrate as a man's voice came out of it.

Out of instinct, Kuroko. Kagami, and Kiyoshi all drew their firearms as team Seirin can only watch on both disbelief and awe at what seemed to be a display of power far beyond the imagination of an ordinary human.

"Orsola Aquinas, I believe that you yourself know this well. Instead of returning to the Roman Catholic Church, how about you join us instead, and enjoy a much more meaningful life?"

"It's the Amakusa!" Agnese yelled in despair.

Suddenly, an ear-piercing sound could be heard as the blade of a long sword sprung out of the ground between Kamijou and Orsola. Since everyone's attention had been preoccupied with the object above them, the sudden change below their feet shocked them.

Then, the same sound could be heard another two times, and two more blades came out from the ground. The three blades surrounded Orsola.

The swords were like the fins revealed by sharks swimming near the surface of the water. With Orsola at the center, the three blades cut an equilateral triangle about two meters on each side.

"Aaaahh—"

Before Orsola's voice could properly convert to a scream, her body, together with the triangular piece of asphalt, fell down into a deep abyss.

"Amakusa!"

Agnese shouted as she stretched her hand out, but it was already too late; Orsola's body had been swallowed by the darkness. Kamijou rushed to the side of the triangular hole and regretfully covered his mouth.

 _Bang! Bang!_

Everyone from the Seirin team suddenly dropped down as Kuroko and Kagami then began fire their M1911 and Remington shotgun, respectively, in the hole while Kiyoshi seemed to be in reverie but in a few seconds, he break out of the trance and, to the slight surprise of his teammtes, began to do some weird but fast sets of hand signals as he muttered some words nobody around him seemed to understand. Kuroko saw this and slightly sweatdropped. _Kiyoshi-senpai, are you sure you can do that now?_

"Oi, Kiyoshi, what…"

Before Hyuga can even finish his sentence properly, out of thin air and into the scene, a phalanx of Komodo Dragons suddenly appeared in their sights and as Kuroko and Kagami stopped firing, the large lizards quickly jumped into the whole while Kiyoshi closed his eyes, seemingly trying to draw something from his mental discerning. After a few minutes, the reptiles quickly returned and as soon as they gathered around Kiyoshi, they all transformed into mist and the particles quickly accumulated into a small ball which flew directly into the right hand of Kiyoshi.

Afterwards, the small ball disintegrated.

"We're too late," Kiyoshi grimly said, "Or rather, I was too late because I hesitated to do the Hand Signs. Kuroko and Kagami were able to react quickly and thus, they managed to completely injure one of those Amakusa guys but I reacted too late and my summons couldn't last in this state of mine…"

"Summons? And what do you mean that you can't last?" Koganei asked, already exasperated by the fact that today, a lot of things had happened, from Kuroko meeting with a nun to Kiyoshi performing what looked to be a supernatural act.

Stiyl grunted as it took him a minute to recognize what Kiyoshi did, "Considering that this is your first time using magic, I think you haven't fully controlled you mana reserves and that you hesitated as well…"

Kiyoshi scratched his head as he frowned, "Uh…yeah…that must be it…"

"Damn it, what's going on?" Kamijou said bitterly. "Hey Stiyl, you'd better give me a proper explanation from beginning to end!"

"Actually, I could use some explanation to, idiot." Stiyl Magnus said in disdain.

* * *

Darkness had already arrived and the streets from the outside seemed to have been deserted.

The night did not bring about peace, however. Agnese, who was dressed in black robes, continued to issue orders through hand signals and foreign language to the other nuns wearing the same monastic clothes. At the same time, she was holding a quill pen and writing rapidly in a small notebook. "It's like a telephone," Index had pointed out.

Some among that black organization—official nuns from the Roman Catholic Church—had jumped into the sewer through the triangular hole that Orsola's kidnappers had cut open and where Kuroko and Kagami's guns barked inside while Kiyoshi's lizards traced in the smell of blood. Others had opened up their maps and used red ink and quill pens to draw lines on the map. Kamijou could not tell whether they were analyzing the enemy's escape route or setting up positions to monitor and surround them.

It was a noisy and chaotic night. Kamijou, Index, Kuroko, Kagami, Kiyoshi, Stiyl and the rest of the Seirin basketball club members could only stand around and watch from afar. Kamijou could not speak any foreign languages—he did not even know what language the nuns were speaking—so he could not take part in the conversation. As for Index and Stiyl, they had chosen to watch from afar, trying to not cause any confusion among the Roman Catholic nuns, who followed a different command structure altogether. Kuroko and Kagami were busy reloading their firearms while Kiyoshi decided to hand his gun to Riko, who nearly smacked in his head.

"Riko, you'll need this more than I do at this situation," the Seirin big man explained, "Now that the situation has—"

"Teppei, that's not what I meant!" Riko screeched, "What I mean is, how the hell are you able to perform that hand thingy power?!"

"Uh…"

"It's his mana reserves…" Kuroko sighed as he knew there is no way that they would be able to dodge this question.

"Okay, what with this thing called mana?" Hyuga asked as they ordered Kawahara, Furihata, and Fukuda to run to Maji Burger, which is actually near, for some food that they will consume for the night.

"It's a bit hassle to explain since it's quite long but…" The tealnette didn't take his eyes off his gun as he checked and rechecked it so that he won't accidentally fire it to someone innocent, "Simply put, mana is like a vital force that is found essentially in every human beings. Well, actually, vital forces can be called in different names such as mana, prana, chakra, etc. But manipulating these vital forces is a different topic. Manipulating energy sources can be a bit tricky since it would require a lot of rituals to draw out significant power beyond the limits of human understanding. Take instance for Kiyoshi-senpai's power a while back. He used Hand Signs to summon animals. What he did is actually derived from the ancient techniques from proto-Shinto shamans and Zan Buddhist monks which we call Kuji-in. The Kuji-in or "Nine Hand Seals," refers to the mudra or hand seals and gestures associated with the nine syllables themselves. From what Tsuchimikado-kun told me, Kiyoshi should be able to at least summon specific creatures and make them abide to his will though a special form of telepathy."

"A-Amazing…" Tsuchida can only gape in awe.

"That's quite informative, Kuroko-kun," Riko can only utter those words as she too, seemed to be now more than interested to know about this magical world that Kuroko got into. Even Hyuga and Izuki stare at Kiyoshi with a slight envy. _If Kiyoshi can do it, then we might be able to perform magic too!_

"Good thing that you're not Espers," Stiyl huffed, "Because science-derived powers and magic are two different forms of life forces. It would be disastrous for us if

Enduring his ever-growing hunger, Kamijou interrupted, "Hey, what did Index and the rest of us come here to do? Aren't the people from the Roman Catholic Church supposed to do this mission? If we can only foolishly stand around, what's the point of coming all the way here?"

"About that, our reinforcements should've arrived by now. I don't know why those knights haven't arrived yet." Stiyl lamented, puffing out white smoke. "Also, we'll definitely be useful in this situation—no, more accurately, she'll definitely be useful."

The "she" that Stiyl mentioned probably referred to Index.

"By the way, Kiyoshi," The Fire Mage suddenly faced the Seirin center, "Besides the fact that you're new to magic, you seemed a bit hurt to go all-out." He then looks down—straight to his knee. "Your left knee—you have destroyed that during last year's games, right? A reason why you didn't show up earlier during the Interhigh…"

At hearing the statement of Sityl, everyone from the Seirin Basketball team, especially the second years, only froze up as they didn't how to react on what the redhead magician said. Kiyoshi was especially dumbfounded while Kuroko and Kagami can't help but look up and stare at the seniors, as if asking some answers.

"H-How did you know that?!" Hyuga demanded.

"We extract files and information about people that work directly with us or had some connections," Stiyl explained, blowing smoke unintentionally into Koganei's face, "In Kiyoshi's case, it was a bit easy to get information about him and we only get his because of Kuroko, whose information I got from some higher-ups in Academy City. The same thing goes with Kagami Taiga. Don't be surprised then if I know something about you, Iron Heart."

"I'm beginning to feel that this guy's a stalker…" Hyuga muttered.

"Neh, Touma, can we do something about Kiyoshi's knee?"

Everyone turned to see Index pleading with Kamijou Touma as she displayed puppy eyes. Everyone's heart jumped up, especially Stiyl, who had to fight an urge to blush and do something uncharacteristic of him. _Damn you, Index. Why now, of all times?!_ He then coughed and said, "After this, we could probably help Kiyoshi's knee to be healed faster than normal surgery here in Japan…"

Riko's and Izuki's eyes widens in both astonishment and hope at the fact that their pioneer could actually play all three years of high school basketball in Japan.

"Wow, I didn't expect some prude like you be charitable enough," the sarcasm in Kagami's voice wasn't lost to some people present.

"Don't get used to it," Stiyl barked, "I'm only compensating Kuroko here for helping out in making Index's life normal in Japan."

"Besides, you should be grateful, Kagami-kun," Kuroko chided his teammate, "It's not every day that something like this happens…ah…by the way, what is this Book of the Law that we're talking about…"

"The Book of the Law was a grimoire written in codes that no one in the entire world could decipher, so the contents of the book were rather precious," Index began to explain for the benefit of those who weren't familiar with the magical item, "Once someone could interpret it, they would be able to gain tremendous power."

"So uh…" Tsuchida decided to ask, "What's so special about this Book of the Law?"

"Rumor has it that the world ruled by Christian religion will come to an end if one were to use it," Stiyl explained.

"Then why not just burn it?" Izuki suggested, "It shouldn't be that destroy to burn an old book…"

"A grimoire cannot be burned," Index replied to the Eagle Eyed guard, "Particularly with originals, the very letters, words and sentences written in a grimoire convert to magic-like symbols by using energy leaking out from the ley lines as a power source like an automatic magic circle. At best, they can only be sealed away."

 _Tap! Tap! Tap!_

From afar, Agenese's heels were wildly thumping on the floor as she ran as fast as she could to meet with the rest of the group.

"Ah…erm…I really want to start explaining the current situation. May I ask if you guys are prepared?"

"…"

 _Where the hell did she even learn that dialect?!_ Hyuga felt mortified as he made a mental note about how young girls shouldn't use that kind of _Nihonggo._

But due to the nun's fast pace, she ended up suddenly stumbling all the way to the ground when she halted as fast as she ran. "Waaahhh!" she screamed as she swung her arms wildly. In her confusion, she grabbed onto Kamijou's arm.

"Whoa!"

In the end, even Kamijou was pulled to the ground. The sudden action made him unable to react in time to protect himself, and his entire body fell flat onto the asphalt. It hurt so much that he wanted to writhe on the floor. Suddenly, Kamijou realized that there was a piece of floating fabric covering his head.

It was Agnese's skirt.

Kamijou looked up, and several centimeters in front of him was an entirely delightful scene of paradise.

"Eeeeeeeeeeh?!'

Panicking, Kamijou tried to move his head away. At the same moment, Agnese also sensed something amiss; gave a loud, piercing scream, and pressed her skirt down tightly with both hands. Of course, it was a defensive action under a desperate situation, but such an action only caused Kamijou's head to be stuck under her skirt, making him unable to move.

Kamijou heard Index shouting at him as his entire range of vision was blocked by Agnese's skirt and thighs.

"Tou…Tou-Tou-Tou-Tou-Touma! This sort of prank is really too much!"

"Please don't get too aroused while we're doing a mission; now hurry and stand up."

Stiyl raised his leg to his waist before kicking Kamijou, finally freeing him from the terrifying prison formed from Agnese's skirt and thighs. Stiyl seemed to have enjoyed the kick a little too much, however, and it seemed that he had felt compelled to do that after hearing Index cry out.

Having been kicked, Kamijou coughed as he shook his head.

"Is this normal?" Kiyoshi asked, quite bewildered.

"Get used to it, Kiyoshi-senpai," Kuroko sighed, "As long as we're with Kamijou-kun, his bad luck is bound to really show us something strange and incredible in its own way."

After calming down, Agnese's body was still rather stiff, but she was no longer nervous when she spoke.

"Okay, now I'll start on The Book of the Law, Orsola Aquinas, the Amakusa's actions, and our future course of action."

Everyone then gathered around her as Kuroko tucked his gun in his pants.

"Right now, we can confirm that Orsola Aquinas has fallen into the hands of the Amakusa. As for The Book of the Law, I'm afraid that they may have taken that as well. The enemy we're facing, the Amakusa Church, probably has slightly less than fifty people. They used the sewer to escape earlier, but it's unlikely that they'll stay there throughout the night."

"In other words, you don't know anything?" Kuroko asked.

"We're tracking the movements of the Amakusa Church from their traces of magic but…" Agnese trailed off.

"The Amakusa Church specializes in escaping and hiding," Index completed her statement, "You won't catch them so easily…"

"B-But there's no way they can get past our net…" Agnese tried to argue.

"It's possible. There's a type of magic for that."

Index replied without hesitation. At that, Agnese sucked in a deep breath.

"There's a spell that can only be used in Japan. Speacial Movement Method: Map Pilgrimage. Basically speaking, there are special places called 'portals' all over Japan. One can use this 'map magic' to travel from portal to portal."

"Are you talking about the Great Japanese Coastal Map that Ino Tadataka created?"

Stiyl seemed to have thought of something, giving an ugly expression as he muttered.

Kagami and Kamijou were extremely confused now as the former asked, "Who's this Ino Tadataka? Is he another famous magician like you guys?"

Once that question was asked, everyone turned and gazed at Kagami rather coldly, especially Hyuga, who looked like he wanted to murder their ace.

"Bakagami! Are you not listening to your history class?!" The clutch captain roared, "He was the person to create the first map of Japan using modern surveying techniques! It's even recorded in ordinary history timelines."

"Seems like you have no clue at all about history," Stiyl smoked a cigarette, "I bet you've even forgotten who the previous five prime ministers were?"

"…Even an Italian like me knows." Agnese deadpanned.

"Oh God…" Riko looked a bit embarrassed for her team, "Bakagami! Don't go off and putting down our school! You're giving our team a bad impression!"

"I'm sorry coach but this is Kagami-kun we're talking about…"

"Shut up!" Kagami, completely embarrassed, was bombarded and pulverized by the voices around him. _Thank Kami-sama I wasn't the one who's grilled._ Kamijou sweatdropped. _I myself didn't even know who that guy is._

"Anyway, this Japanese map created in the Edo period has a special structure. Everyone should be clear about Idol Theory, right? That's, except for…Touma and the Seirin people sans Tetsuya..."

There were supposed to be only a few people who understood that magical term but it seemed to be common knowledge among all the people around the whole team mentioned. _I guess this night, we're going to learn some new things._ Izuki mused.

"For their sake, I'll give a brief explanation. Idol Theory is a form of basic knowledge that allows us to put the power of God and angels to good use. According to this theory, if one were to build a duplicate of the cross on which Christ was crucified and put it on the roof of a church, some of the holy power from those actual cross-wielders will be replicated. The power of the duplicate is not even 0.000000000001% of the original's—even the greatest legendary duplicate, Holy Manger, contains only a small fraction of that power—but if someone obtained even 1% of the original's power, they could match even the Twelve Apostles."

"So in a simple analogy, it's like how the solar power generates electricity by absorbing energy from the sun," Kuroko spoke.

"That's right, Tetsuya," Index looked happy that someone non-magician actually understood it, "And, according to our hypothesis, Idol Theory can be reversed; in other words, not only will the original cause some effect on the Idol, but also vice-versa."

"Hypothesis?" Kamijou raised his eyebrows, "Do you mean that it's still unconfirmed?"

"There are some exceptions that cannot be explained, so right now, it's just a hypothesis. But using this hypothesis, people have claimed that they'll receive divine judgment if they treat the Bible badly," Index clarified, "That's not unreasonable, however. In the Bible, there are many instances where several idols from different anti-Christian Greek religions were struck down and destroyed by lightning. Stepping on Fumie in Japan was a method designed to affect the original badly by stepping on the duplicate."

"Uhm…senpais…what's a Fumie?" Kagami didn't know if he could actually keep up with this lecture.

"Ahou. You're really not paying attention to your history class! That's a piece of wooden carving of Jesus and the Virgin Mary!" Hyuga shouted at their ace, "When there was a wave of persecution against early Japanese Christians during the Edo period, stepping on Fumie was a method used to check whether people were Christians. Shoguns and their soldiers would use a carving of Christian iconology or sometimes, figures of Jesus and Mary on a piece of paper, and they would put it on the floor before forcing others to step on it. Those who didn't dare do so would be identified as Christians and weeded out."

Index nodded in approval as she continued, "Ino Tadataka used Idol Theory in the opposite manner. He understood that the real one and the idol would affect each other, so he plotted 47 portals on the Great Japanese Coastal Map that originally didn't exist on the Japanese islands. Thus, these entrances that allow people to come and go as they please appeared in modern Japan."

After hearing Index's explanation, Agnese was stunned.

Kuroko organized the information that he had just heard and said, "Then, what do we do? The Amakusa Christians might have escaped through a portal, right? Since there are a limited number of portals, shouldn't we just check all of those in one go?"

"It's impossible." Index shook her head, "Actually, people later said that they could only find 23 of the portals on the Great Japanese Coastal Map. But a manual from the time of when Western ships arrived during the Bakumatsu Era clearly stated that there were 47 portals."

The location of more than half of the portals could not be identified.

Thus, they could not determine the whereabouts of the Amakusa.

"Besides using the special teleportation magic of the Great Japanese Coastal Map, the base of the Amakusa is famous for being a well-hidden secret. That's understandable, since outsiders can't even determine their escape routes. Just now, Agnese said that their main base was reported to be in Kyushu, but it's almost impossible to verify that. There are too many places that are suspected to be their main base. As for where the real one actually is, nobody knows. These reports could be all false, or those places could all have the capacity to be a main base."

Agnese looked pale and exclaimed, "Then…it's all over for us if they jump using a whirlpool! What are you taking your time for?"

"Because there's no need to panic," Index calmly replied.

"Huh?" Hyuga looked at the silver-haired nun, "You said that these Amakusa guys can just go somewhere with this so-called Map Pilgrimage…"

"Map Pilgrimage is heavily dependent on the movement of the stars, Junpei." Index added, ignoring the looks she is receiving since she called the Seirin shooting guard by his given name, "It can only be used in a certain time. The only time the special movement method can be used is directly after midnight so we have four and a half hours left."

She then looked at Kamijou, "Touma, can we use that map thing on your phone…"

Kamijou figured she meant the GPS function on his phone and handed it to her. Index accepted the phone, but she looked like she did not know what to do with it, so Kamijou had to use it for her. She then explained as everyone stooped down as well to get a clearer view, "In this net, there's only one whirlpool they can use."

She then pointed to a certain direction.

* * *

"Our scouts have reported two suspicious characters there. They're likely from the Amakusa, but we haven't tipped them off yet."

After hearing Index's explanation a while ago, Agnese had given the orders, and within fifteen minutes, she had gotten a report from her subordinates.

 _It's really easy to do things when there are so many people._ Kamijou thought as he sat down with the Seirin basketball team, who were busy munching their burgers and fries.

The Angel Fall incident had been a whole lot more troublesome, even though this situation was just as chaotic—in Kuroko's opinion.

Since Kamijou and the rest had nothing else to do, they had time to enjoy their dinner and take a little nap.

Remarkably, they had to take their dinner and sleep inside a tent. This was supposed to be the capital of Japan, and yet they were setting up their own tent. That was really unexpected. Come to think of it, if those seventy or so people wearing such strange clothes and preparing for war were to gather in a multi-chain restaurant or a hotel, then that would be an even more amazing sight.

"You know…" Izuki began to speak as he was busy munching his fries, "This whole thing about supernatural magic—it's quite complicated but at the same time, very nice to learn some new things that aren't normal…"

"Yeah," Hyuga nodded as he sips cola, "By the way, Kuroko and Kagami, what's with the serious expressions? About what happened to Kiyoshi, it's all in the past. We got over it."

After the whole meeting with Agnese Sanctis, the light-shadow duo begged and nagged their captain to confirm if what Stiyl said actually had some truth in it. After some moments of pleading, Hyuga finally gave in and told the whole team that what Stiyl said to them is actually the whole summary of what happened in their first year of operating the basketball club. Izuki then talked about their struggles to form the club and how Hanamiya Makoto intentionally injured their center, which sucked out some major offensive firepower for the young Seirin team last year and causing their massive defeat.

"I know but Hanamiya…" Kuroko's expression turned grim, "He's one of the Uncrowned Kings, right? We faced off against him one time in middle school and he did try to use dirty tactics on us but…by some degree of luck, he got a disqualifying foul that sent him reeling in the bench."

"Well, that's some good story to hear," Hyuga smirked and then turned to Kamijou, who was silently listening to them, "Kamijou Touma, thanks for being with Kuroko when he trained in Academy City…"

"Uh…thanks…" The spiky haired boy can only grin as he scratches his head then he felt awkward when he noticed that everyone was looking at his direction, "W-Well, can I excuse myself? I needed to go and see Index. I don't know why she hasn't returned yet…" He quickly got up and went out of the tent.

The team watched him with blank expressions before returning to their food.

"By the way, Kuroko-kun, how did Kiyoshi learned those Hand Sign techniques again?" Riko asked.

"Well…Tsuchimikado-un taught it to him one day…"

* * *

" _Kiyoshi-san, I need you to learn some magic…"_

" _Okay. But why me?" Kiyoshi asked as they were in a deserted park not far from Seirin. They had met after the blonde called the Iron Heart to see him for an emergency meeting, "I mean, Kuroko's the one who—"_

" _It would be too much risk if I teach Kuroko magical techniques right now," Tsuchimikado replied with a somber tone, "Since his role for now is to guide Kami-yan from the shadows in an event of an activity involving both side but especially the magical side, him using Magic could be expose both him and Kami-yan to the public and might trigger an old-age war between science and magic. In order to protect both of them, I'm asking you to do it in Kuroko's place. I can't have Kagami doing it because he's too much of a hothead at his current state and he might end up abusing magic in a wrong way. Besides, if it's you, no one would suspect because you're not related to any magical cabals out there and that Kami-yan will be the one who'll do most of the damage…"_

" _I see," Kiyoshi understood now, "So what's the first thing I'll learn?"_

 _Tsuchimikado grinned as he then steps back and clasps his hands, "First things first, there are several ways to use magic. One in which involved the use of hands. Something like you see in Naruto…" He then made several movements in his two hands while muttering, "Clone Regeneration…"_

 _Suddenly, a smoke appeared and as it cleared quickly, Kiyoshi saw what looked like a herd of frogs jumping out of thin air._

" _This is…" He didn't know what to describe._

" _Well…" Tsuchimikado used the momentary smoke screen to wipe out the blood coming from his mouth, "This is just a demonstration technique on what I can do as a part magician. By the way, based on your mana reserves, you could best excel in shadow control, summoning, clones, and manipulation of your surroundings. Perhaps, it would be nice if you could specialize in taijutsu as well."_

" _Well…then teach me everything that I need to protect the ones I cherish the most…" Kiyoshi looked prepared as Tsuchimikado motioned him to repeat after him._

* * *

"And that was it," Kiyoshi chuckled, "It felt hell though as Tsuchimikado really drilled me every day after our basketball practice. But in the end, it did paid off as I was able to summon animals—albeit, in a slow start."

"Yeah but still…" Hyuga said, "Shadow control? Summoning? Environmental manipulation? It looks like you're playing God. You can do anything with your bare hands."

"It does have its limits, captain," Kuroko cut in, "After doing those techniques in a longer duration, he can sap out his mana easily—and in an essence, he would sap out his whole stamina. It's like playing two basketball matches at the same time. And…" he stopped, as if recalling something, "As Tsuchimikado-kun said, he can only use it on times when we're in trouble."

"But clones, huh?" Riko suddenly thought in her mind and all of the sudden, she had a cat-like grin that sent shivers to the players of Seirin. _I don't know but I have a feeling that what she plans is something we won't like at all!_ Was the general thought that ran through the boys' minds.

"Such misfortune!"

A loud and familiar voice was heard from afar.

"Kuroko…was that…"

"Hai. That must be him," Kuroko quickly replied, "As I said, his misfortunes are amazing in itself."

* * *

 _Somewhere…_

It was eleven pm.

A certain man, together with 47 other people, were gathered around the portal of the special teleportation magic, the Miniature Pilgrimage.

The place was not some mysterious forest or mountain, however; they were at a large snack-themed amusement park called Parallel Sweets Park.

This snack-themed amusement park had been built and financed by four large snack manufacturers, and it was as large as an electrical plant. Inside the park were 75 stores from 38 different countries. Throughout the park were several donut-like watercourses, linked to each other like the five rings on the Olympic logo. Outside the watercourses, there stood several snack shops similar to those of hawkers, but their products were topquality. Inside of the circular watercourses was a square where many snack manufacturers could showcase their products and carry out activities. As it was almost the end of summer, it seemed like they were promoting ice products and frozen desserts.

Although the locations of the portals that Ino Tadataka had set did not change, the city developed and changed every day. Some portals were located within certain rooms in certain condominiums, or even a large vault in a certain bank; it was impossible to use those for teleportation. In comparison, this portal was the most accessible.

The Amakusa members who had infiltrated Parallel Sweets Park were holding hands as they prepared for the Miniature Pilgrimage.

As conditions for its use, the Miniature Pilgrimage could only be used at midnight, and the ritual to prepare it had to be completed beforehand. As the timeframe in which the miniature portal could be used was only five minutes long, it would be too late if they waited until midnight to begin the ritual. The ritual had to be activated exactly at midnight, however, so if necessary, they could finish it first and then activate it at midnight.

None of the preparations for the ritual required any weird magic circles or spell chanting.

Aside from having infiltrated a theme park that was not open for service, those people were not really that strange. There were young people gathered in groups of four to five, talking together; some occasionally took out french fries and hamburgers from paper wrappers to eat; some were holding discussions in front of the theme park's introductory board; and others were standing and flipping through travel guidebooks. Their actions seemed quite normal.

Their attire was much more commonplace than those worn by Index or Stiyl: one girl wore a cutie top and a pair of short jeans, a boy had donned a mixed-colored shirt and baggy black pants, a lady wore an outfit with her overcoat slung over her shoulders, and so on. The only noticeable thing was that around ten people were carrying sports bags, musical instrument cases, surfboards, and all other sorts of bulky luggage; they were the people responsible for transporting weapons.

"It's about time…"

The man muttered as he stood alone, far away from everyone, and swung the sword in his hand horizontally.

The metal streetlights lost their light, breaking in half and leaving behind diagonal cuts.

"Kanzaki Kaori, I'll show you what the multi-religion incorporated Christian Church—the Amakusa Christian Church—looks now!"

The man quietly muttered to himself, as he looked up at the night sky.

* * *

 _ **Sneak Peak for the Next Chapter!**_

 **Kuroko and the rest of the Seirin basketball team, who decided to help their passing specialist, went along with the plan of Agnese Sanctis to track down the Amakusa Christians. After several violent encounters—including Kagami and Hyuga nearly getting stabbed by one female Amakusa member and Kiyoshi having to use his clones to widen their search radar—they were able to pin down Tatemiya Saiji, the substitute pope of the Amakusa Christians, and his followers. But to their shock of their lives, Tatemiya revealed that they were all fooled by the Roman Catholics. What does he means by that?**


End file.
